


Life is Bae

by bigb3ar_2nd, Mymusicmanager



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-14
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2018-10-18 19:05:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 42
Words: 70,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10623192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigb3ar_2nd/pseuds/bigb3ar_2nd, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mymusicmanager/pseuds/Mymusicmanager
Summary: This story follows Max and Chloe during the last moments of Ep. 5 and onwards, trying to build a life together after the events of Arcadia Bay. Much fluff and cutesey stuff, with a lot of referances and some deep plot tie-ins. Influenced by "Where we go from here", by TheGoodShipFluffy. Welcome aboard the Pricefield ship!





	1. Bae or Bay?

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Where we go from here](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/283686) by TheGoodShipFluffy. 



*CRACK*! A sharp and loud noise snapped Max out of whatever dream state she was in. The cold rain hammered down on her skin. Wearing only her usual hoodie, jeans and that old Jane Doe shirt, the raindrops combined with the harsh winds felt like razors on her face.

There she stood, on top of that old lighthouse hill, shining the way for ships into Arcadia Bay. But there were no ships to see on the water, just the occasional one in the air, flying by. The enormous tornado crept closer to the bay, and Max could just stand there, baffled by its size and strength. Whilst scared, she was not terrified. Because she had Chloe there with her, just to her left. They both just stood there and let the moment sink in for a few seconds, before Chloe turned Max towards her.

"Max, this storm is happening because of me, because that I am still alive!". Max could see that her dearest Chloe was just about crying her eyes out, even though the rain tried to conceal it. Her voice was in distress, and she could barely get the words out of her throat. "Max, you have saved me over and over again this week. I thought I was going to die in that bathroom at Blackwell, then on the train tracks. You have rescued me so many times, but maybe I was just supposed to die at that bathroom!".

Max looked at her in disbelief. She broke into tears at Chloe said what she had. "My poor, sweet Chloe could not be responsible for this", Max thought to herself, with tears running down her face too. Chloe reached into her back pocket, and pulled out her wallet. From the wallet, she found a picture. THE picture. The one picture that had marked the start of all this. Max looked at the photo, thinking it was some sort of sick metaphor life pulled on them. The sky-blue butterfly sitting on that bucket, looking so peaceful. How could the wing flap of that butterfly stir up a huge tornado like this?

Chloe handed Max the photo, and smiled at Max in a way that melted her heart. "Here. Whatever choice you make, I'm certain you'll make the right one!", Chloe said. Max had to make a decision. It felt like time stood still once she had the photo in her hands. But Max did in reality not need more than a split second to decide. "I choose you!", Max exclaimed, and tore the photo in half. She hugged Chloe tight as the two pieces of the film fell to the ground. "I love you, Chloe Price! I love you, and I will always choose you!", Max whispered in her ear, and Chloe started crying even harder. But these were not exclusively sad tears, but rather combined with happy tears as well. Because she knew that Max would always be with her. "I love you too, Max Caulfield", Chloe whispered back, both of them crying on top of that hill. They locked eyes, and leaned in for a passionate kiss. There they stood, with the storm raging on behind them, as they shared their first 'real' kiss. They were together, and that was all that mattered. They looked at each other, and knew that they had to stay up by that lighthouse the rest of that night. The door was locked, but with a few well-targeted kicks fueled by the events of the week, the door swung open. They went inside, and closed the door behind them. Using the light from her phone, Chloe found a light switch, and flipped it on. A dim light turned on, but not strong enough to cover the whole room. Max looked around the cold room, and found a few blankets, along with some old furniture in a corner. They sat down next to each other on the couch, and pulled the blankets across their cold bodies. They both shivered a bit, but they quickly felt that the blankets started helping. Considering what happened in the Dark Room, Max was really not in the mood to sleep, nor to sit in the dark. Chloe put her arm around Max, and let Max rest her head at Chloe's shoulder. "I'm not gonna let anyone get to you, Max. I'll stay up all night to watch out for you, if that's what it takes", Chloe whispered into Max's ear, trying to reassure her. Max let out a small whimper, and snuggled herself into Chloe's side.

This was going to be a long night...


	2. Aftermath

"NOOOO!" Max screamed, and shot up in the air like a bullet. Chloe jumped a bit, quickly looking around for obvious dangers. Max stood on the floor 3 feet away from the couch where they'd fallen asleep last night. Well, sleep would be taking it a bit far. In reality, Max had not really slept for more than half an hour, constantly being reminded about the Dark Room every time she closed her eyes. However, in the end, fatigue had overpowered her, dragging her into dreamlands. Or nightmare-lands, as it really was.

Chloe, on the other hand, was a bit calmer last night. Sure, she had just offered to sacrifice herself for the good of the bay, without knowing for sure if it would actually make a difference. She also did not really do a whole lot of sleeping that night, and mostly stood guard for Max, protecting her as best she could. At least she got a bit more shut-eye than Max.

"What's wrong, Max? I'm here!" Chloe said in the most reassuring voice she could, walking over to Max, pulling her in for a protective hug.

"Nothing", Max said in a low voice. "Just some nightmare".

Chloe, being a bit taller than Max, looked down at the brunette, and kissed her head.

"If you want to talk about it, I'm here for you", the blue haired girl said, squeezing Max a bit tighter.

"Thanks, Chloe. Maybe at some later point"

"Whenever you feel up to it, Max". Chloe kissed Max on the head once again, before slowly letting her go.

It was morning, and the storm had weathered, as far as they could hear. Chloe checked her phone. It was about 7 AM, and light shined through a small cow eye-window opposite of the couch. Max and Chloe wandered over to the door, and opened it, bracing themselves of what they might find out there. They stepped out of the lighthouse, towards the cliff, stopping before going too far. And there they saw it.

Most of the bay lied in ruins. Granted, it almost looked like the tornado settled with just eating the boardwalk and some roofs. They could see piles and piles of sand everywhere in the town, and the beach looked disfigured. The carcasses of the whales had been flung some distance, but it definitely could've been worse, if they'd landed across town, for example.

Max had a sad look on her face, and when Chloe came over to hold her hand, Max could not take it anymore. She turned to hug the bluenette, and cried in her shoulder. Chloe, whilst being sad about the whole thing, had always resented Arcadia Bay after the death of her father. But she had to admit, this was not exactly what she'd meant when she said "I'd like to drop a bomb on Arcadia Bay and turn it all into glass!"

Max looked into Chloe's deep, blue eyes, seeing the reflection of herself in them. They were watery, but not more watery than Max's. "Let's get out of here", Max suggested. Chloe had no argument there, seeing as she'd always wanted to leave Arcadia Bay. Perhaps for good this time.

As they started walking down to Chloe's car, Max looked back at the lighthouse that had literally saved their lives last night. The lighthouse and the hill it stood on had always been special to both girls, but now maybe even more so.

Chloe started the engine, and the engine barked a bit. Granted, Chloe's car was not the most glamorous vehicle in the world, but rusted and beat up it was, it was lovely to see it.

Chloe pulled out from the beach parking spot, and took the road that followed the beach line. There was trash everywhere, and most buildings missed roofs and some walls. As Max had suspected by the looks from the lighthouse this morning, the beach area had gotten the worst parts of the tornado. Chloe turned on the radio, trying to find any news reports of the Arcadia Bay-situation. But no such luck. In the end, she wound up changing to a music station, trying to find something to cheer up poor Maximus where she sat in the passenger seat, looking at the destruction with a sad face. Mt. Washington by Local Natives came on as Chloe was about to change past that radio station. She knew Max liked that song, and whilst it was kind of a sad song, perhaps Max would take comfort in it. Chloe put a hand on Max's shoulder, to show her that she was there for her. "Thanks", Max said in a sad and low voice, as she continued to look at the remains of Arcadia Bay. A few bodies lied lifeless on the sidewalks. The rain had washed most of the blood pools away, so people looked somewhat peaceful, lying there. It wasn't much as way of comfort, but at least Max didn't feel she had to vomit upon looking at them. The bodies were far and few between, and by the time the car had driven past Blackwell, there was simply no one to be seen. Max and Chloe feared the worst, but hoped for the best, as they drove out of town. Max leaned against the door on the passenger side, still looking out the window with that sad look upon her face. Chloe wanted to comfort her as best as she could, but knew that Max needed time for this to pass through her head. For now, the best way to help Max was to keep on driving, getting them out of Arcadia Bay.


	3. Good News

*CRACK*

The room lit up in an instant. That, combined with the loud thunder, woke Max faster than you could say "Wowser". Max looked around the room, disoriented for a second or two, before remembering where she was. Chloe was also awake, because she started gently stroking Max' left arm.

"Hey" she said, in a voice soft as blankets fresh out of the dryer. "They've been tracking this weather for some time now. Nothing spontaneous about this one", she said, voice still incredibly soft. Max hated this. She knew that she would probably brutally wake up every time it would start raining and thundering, at least for a while.

"Hey" Max replied, trying to sound comforted. "I know, but I just… I can't shake the feeling that I've caused so many deaths, and that I might still cause more if…"

"Hey. Come here." Chloe pulled Max in for a tight hug.

"We're together, and that's all that matters for now. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you, my Maxipad." Max kinda hated that name, but it made her smile a little, and it did help take her mind off things.

"My Chloe. My sweetest Chloe. I'm so lucky to have you here with me"

"Hey, you've saved me so many times now. It's time I started to repay that debt", Chloe said with a smile, still hugging Max.

"You don't owe anyone anything", Max said, still wrapped in Chloe's arms.

Chloe shrugged. "Still. You need someone to watch over you, and nobody is happier to take that job than I am"

Feeling safe once again, Max lied down close to Chloe. Like, really close. Snuggly close. Spoony close. You get what I mean. Chloe put her arms around the little brunette, and kept her safe throughout the night.

Lights shined in Max' eyes. It was obviously a bright, sunny day outside, and with the pinpoint-accuracy of the sun, Max couldn't sleep any more. She was still tired, seeing as how she'd not really slept two nights ago, up at the lighthouse. As Max wiped the sleep out of her eyes, she looked around. Where was Chloe?! "Chloe", Max said, in an alarmed voice. "CHLOE" she yelled again, harder this time. She was almost crying now, looking around in panic.

"Max? Hey, Max, calm down, it's alright". That voice. That sweet voice that it seemed like ages since she last heard. But where did it come from? The door to the bedroom opened, and Chloe came walking in with a tray in her hands.

"Chloe! I couldn't find you, I thought you… I thought…" Max cried.

Chloe sat the tray down at the first available space, and ran over to Max to hug her tightly.

"Shhhh. I'm here, Max. I'm never going to leave you, hear me? Never". Max still cried a bit, but she shock started to wear off. "There is major psychological trauma there, but what's to be expected from someone able to rewind time, having seen their best friend dying over and over again? To walk it off? Maybe that's what step-douche would've said", Chloe thought to herself. But she corrected herself, because step-douche was not really all that bad, seeing as he'd busted Mr. Jefferson after Chloe and Max went home instead of walking into the trap. Had they done that, things would've been so bad. And Max HAD lived through that reality. Anyway, step-douche was no longer step-douche. Not to Chloe, at least. Was she ready to call him step-dad? Maybe in time. For now, she preferred not to think too much of her family, if they were alive or not.

Chloe eventually released Max from the tight hug, and they both sat down in the bed, and started eating the breakfast that Chloe had made. They… Wait, back up a few seconds. Chloe had made breakfast? Was Max still dreaming?

"You made breakfast?" Max asked perplexed.

"Yea", Chloe smiled. "I figured I'd make myself useful for a change. It's not much, but I wanted to do something nice for you. It's not much, and I hope it won't taste THAT bad". Max was still perplexed, but at least she was not crying anymore. Chloe wrapped her arms around Max and started humming to her, and Max just lied there in the bed, relaxed in Chloe's arms. The both of them enjoyed the breakfast, and after an hour of combined cuddles and eating some nice sandwiches Chloe made, it was time to get out of bed.

Max hit the shower first. The bathroom was not exactly state-of-the-art, but considering the price they'd paid for it, it was not that bad. As Max turned on the water, she was startled by the feeling of water against her bare skin again. For the first few seconds, the water was as cold as it had been on that horrible day. But when the water heated up, it got better, and she could relax a bit.

After stepping out of the shower, she went over to the mirror. Drying the water vapor from the cold mirror, she saw her own reflection. "Boy, you look like a mess, Max. Can't really blame me, though. This past week's been rough, but this is where things are going to change for the better!", Max thought to herself.

"Heeey! You done soon? I want some warm water too". Max sighed a bit, but with a smile, listening to the girl outside the bathroom. Max dressed, and went over to the door.

Max opened the door, and steam tumbled out the doorway, and onto Chloe. "Woa", she said. "Not really expecting that. Hope there's more warm water. Otherwise, I should've joined you in there", Chloe remarked. Max looked into her deep blue eyes and nodded. "Yes, you should have", she said teasingly.

"Sure you don't wanna rewind and invite me to join you?", Chloe said, following up on the tease.

"No, I'm not ready to use my powers again. I have to stop using them all the time", Max said.

"Oh. I understand. Have to live in the now and all that", Chloe said, sounding a bit disappointed.

"Yea", Max said, looking a bit thoughtful.

Chloe gently put her hands on Max' hips. "It's still not too late, tho", Chloe said, teasing Max a bit, smiling as she uttered the words. "Sorry, Chlo, but the moment's passed. You can get a kiss as a compensation, tho", Max teased back.

"I'm not going to argue with that", Chloe smiled, and they leaned in for a passionate kiss.

After both of the girls had gotten dressed, they laid down on the sofa for a few minutes before they'd pack up their stuff and leave.

"Oh, shit! I should've called my parents to let them know I'm alright. Fuck, I must be such a shitty daughter", Max exclaimed. Chloe, being her relaxed self, simply put and arm around Max and said "No. You were stressed out. Can't blame you, either". Chloe often knew exactly what to say to calm Max down a bit.

Max took her phone out of her pocket, and called her mom. "Hey, mom. I'm super sorry I wasn't able to call earlier, things have been so hectic. I'm fine. Really, mom. No, I was at the lighthouse. No, I'll explain later. Just... I'm fine, mom. Really. I'm traveling upstate with Chloe. Yes, Chloe-from-5-painful-years-ago. It's a long story, I'll tell you when we get to you. Yeah, we're headed home. Hope that's okay that we stay with you some time. We're taking it pretty slow, stopping by some motels along the way. In a few days, I'll call you when we know… Yes, promise. Okay. Love you too! Tell dad I'm okay, ok? Okay. Love you. Bye!" Chloe just sat in that sofa and smiled at Max.

"What?" Max said, looking at Chloe. "Nothing" the bluenette answered, still smiling at Max. "You just look cute talking with your mom on the phone".

"Yea? Well, you look cute all the time", Max said

"You cutesy dummy" Chloe teased

"You should call you mom as well; see if she's alright, and if she is, to let her know that you are too".

Chloe, not amused by the thought that her mom might be dead, just sat there.

"I'm sorry", Max said.

"It's okay, Max". Chloe took her phone up from her pocket too, and dialed the number.

Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep…"Come on, please answer the phone!" Chloe said to herself.

"Chloe? Chloe, is that you, sweetheart?" Max could hear from the phone, and she saw Chloe's face light up.

"Mom! I'm so glad to hear your voice. We're fine. I'm with Max. We left the town, and we're on our way upstate for a bit. Yea, Blackwell seems to have stopped all classes, so she wanted to get out of town. Yea, we're headed upstate to Seattle, to her parents. Wait, what? Seriously? Okay, I'll let her know. You know me. Alright, alright, I'll be carefu- We'll be careful. Yes, I'll give her your best. Okay, bye". Chloe looked at Max with a grin.

"Mom's okay, and apparently so was almost everyone else"

"What?" Max said, looking up at Chloe with a hopeful and surprised look.

"Yea. Apparently most people evacuated before the tornado hit. Just some unlucky bastards at the boardwalk died"

"Chloe, this is good news! Well, for the most part, really". The brunette corrected herself, realizing what she'd said.

"I know what you mean", Chloe said with a grin. She leapt into Max' arms and hugged her tightly.

It was finally time to leave again. They both checked the room for anything they might've missed. But no, it looked clean enough. It was pretty much in the same bad state as it was in they rented it yesterday, and the both of them couldn't really wait to get back on the road. They left the key at the reception, and carried their bags into Chloe's car.

They'd stopped by a small town called Siletz, where they'd been able to shop for some rather basic supplies. Gas for Chloe's car, two medium-sized bags, and some clothes. It wasn't much, but seeing as they were on the road, and going to stay on the road for some time, they figured it'd be best to travel lightly, with the minimum amount of items to carry with them.

Now, they pulled out of that sleazy-looking motel, continuing North upstate. Max had already agreed with her mom on the phone that they would stay with her parents some time, and since there was no complaint from Chloe, they were back on the road in no time, headed north.


	4. The Golden Hour

«Wowser…», she said under her breath.

Max looked in awe at the beautiful park. The flowers were in bloom, albeit they'd probably start to die off in a few months. The trees would also most likely start to change colors, perhaps in just a few weeks. Max tried to remember why the trees spent the extra energy to change the color of the leaves just before they died, but being the non-sciency-Max she was, she could not remember it. "Oh well".

*Click*. A quick flash and a whirr later, and out came the Polaroid. Max took a hold of one of the edges, and flapped it back and forth in the air a few times, to let the picture develop properly. Fortunately, the camera had not been broken in the storm that faithful day, and everything still apparently worked. It was great to be able to take some normal pictures again, max thought to herself. Pictures that hopefully didn't mean life or death at some later point.

"So, how do I look?" Chloe walked over from the statue she'd just posed at.

"Beautiful", Max replied, looking directly at Chloe.

"You've not even looked at the picture yet, Max", Chloe said, not realizing the trap she was walking right into. Or perhaps she knew, and wanted to hear Max say it.

"I don't need to look at a photo to see that you're beautiful, Chlo", Max said with a smile on her face. Chloe walked over, and planted a kiss on Max' chin. "You're adorable", she said.

Max was a slight bit embarrassed about the little kiss. She'd never had a boyfriend before, kinda naturally, considering she never really showed any interest. But she'd never had a girlfriend either. Were they girlfriends? Would they stay together? How long? Forever? These thoughts had bothered Max a little, and because she was about as inexperienced with relationships as you could get, she wanted to figure out the answers to those questions. Sooner rather than later.

Chloe took the photo from Max' hands. "Wow. I actually don't look like shit in this picture. That's a new", Chloe said. She sounded a bit bitter, but who wouldn't be after growing up the way she did?

"You have never, and will never, look like anything to my eyes, except from beautiful, lovable, pretty…" Max said with a low and soft voice.

"And hella sexy?" Chloe added.

"Definitely hella sexy", Max replied with a huge grin. "Now come on, let's check out more of this park".

"Sure thing, Maximus" Chloe said, following Max.

They continued to take a few pictures, and walk down the path between the trees and the flowers. After a few minutes, they found a nice bench to sit at, and were they could talk a bit. Max turned towards Chloe, who tried to make a good appearance in public and not sink too far down into the bench, which Max found to be irresistibly cute.

"Chloe, I… I need to know. If we, you know… How long will we stay together?" Max asked, looking into Chloe's deep, blue eyes. Chloe stiffened up a bit, but after thinking about the question for a second or two she loosened up again.

"Well, you know… I… I love you, Maxaroni. I think I always have. How… How long do you plan on sticking around a boring thing like me?" Chloe asked.

"For as long as you love me. Because know that I will always love you. No matter what happens!" Chloe said, looking back into Max' beautiful eyes. "Then forever it is" Max replied, not even needing to think her answer over. She gently caressed the bluenette's cheek and nose. "Besides, you're totally not boring, Chlo". Chloe chuckled a bit. "Well, that remains to be seen, then!" Chloe said with a wide grin on her face. "Come on!" She stood up, took Max' hands, and dragged her along. Max was a bit perplexed, but was definitely going to enjoy whatever shenanigans Chloe was up to. Chloe almost ran, with Max on tow. She could barely keep up with the older girl.

The sun had started to set, and the sky had a burning orange color to it. It was a clear sky, with only a few tiny clouds scattered about. The temperature was very nice, and they'd both needed to seek refuge in the shade several times throughout the day. But here they were. Sitting on a little hilltop, just a few hundred meters about sea level. Chloe had dragged Max into her truck, not revealing where they were going. The grass patch was situated perfectly, and both girls just sat and watched as the sun slowly went down.

"What's this moment called again?" Chloe asked. Max couldn't help but think back to that alternative timeline where Chloe was in a wheelchair. Sad as she was remembering this, she also took comfort in knowing that they were together now, out of harm's way.

"The Golden Hour", Max replied, sitting on the grass patch, holding one arm around Chloe and holding her hand in the other. There was a little pause.

"Wow", Chloe said, sounding impressed. Max couldn't tell weither it was the view or what Max had said, but Max really didn't care. She was just so damn pleased to sit there and to enjoy the view with Chloe. An unharmed, loving Chloe who Max could have all to herself. Max could feel something warm on her lips. She just dried it off, and didn't care. She wanted this moment to last for as long as possible.

However, they could not stay forever. Eventually Max had to concede to her physical limits. Plus, she was getting a major headache. When they got up, Chloe immediately saw what Max had done. But instead of telling Max what she should and shouldn't do, she took Max on her arm, allowing the brunette to lean on her, whilst they walked back towards the car.


	5. Good Morning

For once, Max didn't wake up from having a nightmare. She'd actually slept nice and sound the entire night. It was yet another beautiful morning, with a bright morning sun to shine though the curtain openings, and with birds singing outside, this looked to be a good day. Weather-wise, at least.

"Mmmnnngggg". A familiar sound. A groan. The sound that everyone makes when they'd rather keep on sleeping. This was no exception for Max. She was the first one to wake up, and slowly sat up in the bed. There she was. Chloe. The girl who waited. 5 long, painful years, where Max was in Seattle, dreaming about spending time with Chloe again. And then here they were. Spending time together again, albeit not exactly the type Max'd thought of back then, was nice. And it was the way she wanted to spend the rest of her life. With her. With Chloe.

Max leaned over to gently stroke away some of that gorgeous blue hair from the taller girl's face. Max wanted to be careful not to wake her up from her sleep, but to no avail.

"Mmmmmmm" the bluenette hummed with a smile, her eyes still closed, just enjoying the feeling of touch on her head. "Hey, sorry to wake you", Max said in a soft and calm voice. Chloe was a bit surprised, yet very happy that Max was so relaxed. 'Although, after last night, who wouldn't be relaxed?' Chloe thought. "It's okay. About time to get up anyway, right?"

As Max was about to get up from bed, she realized that she was not wearing anything. She pulled the covers over her chest in slight panic.

"No reason to be shy, Max. You weren't last night, at least"

Max looked at Chloe. She was unaware why she suddenly got all shy around Chloe. They had already declared their love for each other, and they'd been kissing all week. So why was she suddenly stiffing up?

"I… I know. I'm sorry, it's just that…" Max paused

"I've never been with anyone before". A new pause. "This is all just so new to me", Max said, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Hey. It's okay", Chloe said. "You were hella awesome. Heck, you ARE hella awesome" Chloe said.

Max blushed so hard Chloe was almost a bit concerned she'd set the motel ablaze.

"Thanks, Chlo", she said. "You were awesome too".

Chloe hit the showers first, this time. Sleepy, of course, she didn't even think about inviting Max in with her. Max didn't really think about that option either, and so she pulled out her cellphone and sat on the edge of the bed, browsing the latest news for a bit. 'Nothing interesting'. She then noticed that she'd gotten an E-mail from Blackwell.

To all students at Blackwell Academy

It is with great pleasure to announce that the school will re-open November 15th. Due to recent events, we wish to clarify a few things.

Recent events concerning the teacher known as Mr. Jefferson (photography class) has left that very class without a teacher. The academy is currently negotiating with several candidates to fill that position, and we are certain this will be achieved within set date.

Due to the same events as mentioned above, school security will be tightened. The school will hire more security to keep its students safe, as they should be. This is less of a precaution against students as it is against anyone non-student at the school. Rest assured, your day-to-day activities, as well as personal lives, will not be affected by this.

We hope that the trust in the academy has not been diminished, and that everyone's lives will return to normal in time.

We would like to offer consultation with a renowned phycologist, for anyone that should feel that need. In these times, everyone could need someone to talk to.

Thank you for your attention. I expect to see you all when classes resume.

Principal Ray Wells

For contact with phycologist, view attached file

"Chloe!" Max yelled, the contents of the E-mail still not fully settled in her head.

"What's wrong, Max?" Chloe yelled back, now turning off the water. Oops. This is good news, not that urgent. "It's just an E-mail from Blackwell, Chloe", Max yelled back. "It can wait until you're done in there".

The door opened, and a fully naked Chloe stood in the doorway. Max started blushing hard the second she saw her. "What does it say?" Chloe asked.

"It says that Blackwell is going to reopen and classes to start November the 15th. Chloe's grin faded, at least on the inside. She knew that they could not run away forever, and at some point, they probably had to resume to their somewhat-normal lives. Max had to finish school, and become a famous photographer, as she'd always dreamt of. Chloe would have to find something to do, some way of making a bit of money to support her Loved One.

"Wow! That's good news. I suppose we'll have to plan our way back soon, then" Chloe said, sounding a bit saddened. "I guess we have to enjoy our time together as best we can, whilst it lasts" Chloe followed up, taking Max' phone and putting it on the stand next to the bed, before taking Max' hands and standing her up. She placed her soft lips on Max', and kissed her gently. With a plan in her head, she wrapped her hands around Max while kissing her.

"Chloe. Look what you did, you got me all wet", Max said with an innocent smile.

"You might as well join me, then" Chloe said, pulling Max back into the bathroom with her, closing the door behind them.


	6. Portland

Max and Chloe stepped outside into that bright, beautiful weather that reigned today. It was nice and warm, but with a bit chilly winds as a reminder that winter was, indeed, coming. They carried their bags to Chloe's truck, and loaded them in the back. As they opened the door to the car, the heat blasted towards them. "Phew, that's a hot car" Chloe said. "We might as well let it cool a bit"

Chloe stayed outside with the car, trying to move it into the shade to let it cool off a bit, while Max went inside the motel again to pass the time. Not that passing the time with Chloe was in any way boring or not fun, but she figured she'd buy a water bottle or two. As she went inside the motel again, she noticed a little gift shop to her right. 'I like a little gift shop', she thought to herself, walking over. She browsed for a few minutes, without seeing anything that caught her eye. And then she saw it. The perfect gift. A little token of appreciation for Chloe, and something solid to mark that they were now girlfriends. It was a little necklace with a female pirate skull on it. 'That's sooo cute! Chloe will love that!' "How much is it?" Max asked the cashier, not really paying attention to anything other than the necklace. "-een dollars", the cashier said. Well, he said more than that, but Max didn't really listen. "Sorry, what did you say it was?" Max said, embarrassed that she lost attention to what he was going to say even before he could open his mouth. "Fifteen dollars", he repeated. "You look at that thing like you're longing for someone. Who is it for?" he asked, trying to strike conversation. "It's for my frien... it's for my girlfriend" Max corrected herself. It was time she came out of her little shell, and show some public affection towards her girlfriend, even though she was not going to get used to that term for a little while.

"I see", the cashier said. "Why this silly little thing, tho? There are many other necklaces that are far more beautiful than this one." he said, now sounding intrigued. "I've know her all my life. We used to play as pirates as kids, and… why am I telling you this?" Max replied, realizing that she might've gone ahead and spilled a lot of information to some stranger.

"Just making conversation, miss", he said. "How about this: You take that necklace, you go to your girlfriend, and you never leave her. You sound like a cute couple, and I know the look on someone's face when they're in love. So take it. Please." he said. He even started wrapping the necklace.

"Wow… Thank you so much, mister".

"You're very welcome. Now go on, get outta here" he replied with a kind smile. Max took the gift, and ran over to the vending machine to get two bottles of water. *Dunk, dunk*. One bottle after the other popped down into the collecting tray on the machine. As Max touched one of the bottles, she felt that it was nice and cool, and slightly wet. She collected both bottles, after putting the little gift in her right pocket, and went outside to Chloe. There she was, standing by the car that was now standing in the shade. Max could tell that Chloe was pretty warm. Max walked over to her, and handed her a bottle of water. "Here, Chlo. Cool off a bit with this". Chloe took the bottle, and downed ¼ of it in one go. "Whooo, that gave me a brain freeze. Actually, ouch" Chloe smiled and gave Max a hug before they turned over to the car. "Well, it's not exactly nice and cool inside, at least not until we get in there, but this is about as good as it's gonna get here in the shade" Chloe said.

"Alright. It's about time to move ahead if we're ever going to reach Seattle before school starts again", Max said, looking forward to the next few weeks they'd spend together. She wanted to give Chloe the necklace immediately, but she figured she'd save it for a special moment. A moment they wanted to remember fondly.

In order to save a lot of time, knowing themselves as well as they did, they decided not to stop and stay in Portland for a day or two. Instead they stopped by for a few hours, checking out some landmarks and stuff, such as the 'Keep Portland weird' mural, the Portland Art museum (by special request from Max), and the Oregon Zoo. The whole thing took a few hours, and by the end of it all, they were pretty satisfied. Chloe had gotten to pet a few animals, which was unusual for a "punk girl" such as herself, but Max knew that below that exterior tough shell, was a soft girl who loved all things mushy and cute. No wonder she loved Max. Naturally she'd taken a few pictures as Chloe's heart officially melted while holding a small white bunny with a few black spots.

Max had gotten some nice inspiration at the art museum, and had taken a few reference pictures as well. She found a few styles like her own, and a few different that she liked nonetheless. Chloe had really tried to show interest at the museum, which Max seriously admired, but in the end she'd yawned a few times, and ended up just kinda following Max. That was, of course, until she saw a few abstract paintings in a section of the museum. Abstract, being as chaotic as it could be on the surface, was in fact quite similar to Chloe's personality. Max was unsure if this was the reason Chloe had showed interest, but it did look like she was genuinely into it, which Max though to be both super cute and awesome. She even got to snap a few photos of Chloe almost drooling at some cool paintings. Her jaw had at least dropped by a few extra inches.

While at the mural, they didn't really see anything weird going on. They'd both kinda hoped that the whole "Darth Vader on a unicycle playing his theme song on a bagpipe that shoots flames" thing would've happened, but it was apparently rather rear. Max still snapped a few pictures of Chloe in front of the mural, both with her beautiful smile that could melt glaciers, and also a few silly ones, in order to keep Portland weird a bit longer.

In the end, they went to The Dragonfly Coffee House, where they got some coffee and something to eat. Max had gotten a cappuccino and Chloe had gotten a plain black coffee. They shared a small pastry, which tasted heavenly, according to Chloe. Max enjoyed it as well, but she'd had better, remembering some of the REALLY good pastries at the Two Whales diner. Chloe was used to eating there, and stuff that Joyce made in general, so she was accustomed to that taste. But with Max' absence for five long years, it was but a delicious memory. Except from last week, when she'd finally eaten there again. But here they were, sitting next to each other, holding hands and sharing a tasty pastry, just like a couple would. 'Well, we ARE a couple, so this is what we should do. Right, brain?', Max thought to herself. 'Yea. I guess. We are a couple. Right? Are we really though? What if I'm just the next Rachel? Shit, why do I even allow myself to think this way? It can't be healthy for us. Okay, calm down, stop thinking, and enjoy the moment'. Max had always been a bit insecure about herself, except from the whole "being geeky" thingy, but she wasn't going to let it get to the best of her. Not like this. Not with Chloe.

After enjoying their little meal, it was back on the road. Destination: Wherever they felt like stopping, as long as it'd eventually lead them to the North!


	7. Closing In

«…On the road again. I can't wait to get back on the road again…" Willie Nelson sang in the car. Chloe, being her usual punk self, had no time for such music. At least not after the 500th time they'd listened to this type of music. Although it kinda fitted Max' genre, she'd also had her fair share of this type of music on the road. Max reached over and tried to tune into another station. Of course, there was nothing better on any of the other stations. So she turned the whole thing off.

An awkward silence rose in the car, like a heavy cloud.

"Soooo…" Chloe began. "What do you figure we'll do once we get to Seattle?" Chloe asked, knowing the answer full-well.

"I dunno. I'll have to show you around, so show you where I used to hang out all this time" Max replied, sounding really tired.

"Yeah, that'd be nice" Chloe said. She was also a bit tired, but they wanted to cover a fair bit of ground today. Today was Wednesday, October 16th, less than a week had passed since the storm. If they wanted to spend a bit of time in Seattle, and settle in a bit, they should be thinking about getting going soon. If they calculated about a week in either direction, they should easily reach Seattle within Saturday the 19th. Which meant that they'd have to leave Seattle November the 7th.

'Plenty of time to enjoy some sights and relax', Max thought to herself.

The road was pretty much clear of traffic at this point. They'd ventured quite a way from Portland, so now there was pretty much only open plains to be seen. The car started to lean further and further towards the right side of the road. Max'd not really noticed it before, but now they almost had one wheel on the white sideline. "Chloe?" Max asked, still watching the road. No response. "Chloe?!" Max turned her head towards the bluenette, and saw that she had her eyes closed, still sitting in the same position as normally. Max reached the wheel with her left hand to steer them into the center of their lane again, before waking Chloe up. If she hadn't done that, Chloe might've jerked the wheel from the shock of waking up, and they could've both ended up in the ditch, injured or worse. "Chloe!" Max slapped Chloe's hands that were still resting on the wheel, holding it in the generally right position. Max tightened her grip on the steering wheel. As predicted, Chloe jerked the wheel, but since Max held her hand on it, it didn't move far at all.

"Oh, shit, Max. I, I… I fell asleep. That's never happened before…" Chloe said, shocked, surprised and ashamed at once. "It's okay, I got us. This has been a long day already, so maybe we should stop somewhere. I am feeling a bit peckish as well." Max said, reassuring Chloe.

"Thanks. I shouldn't drive anymore, at least not until we get something warm to eat and something cold to drink. I'm sweating like a pig in here" Chloe said, keeping an eye on the road while she tried to clear her eyes, one at the time. "I hear that" Max said a bit teasingly, kinda hoping that Chloe would pick on it. "Hey, you're just as sweaty as I am" Chloe said, obviously picking up on the tease.

Since they were only a stone throw away from Chehalis, they figured it'd be as a good place to stop and get some rest as any other place. Pulling off the I-5, they found themselves in the West Main Street of Chehalis. There the saw the renowned Jeremy's Farm to Table restaurant. They parked the car just around the corner, and headed inside. It was a nice building, with brown brick walls and big windows.

While considering what to get, they ordered some cold water. After a few minutes, the waiter brought to glasses and a large glass jug of water with ice cubes. Chloe, still sleepy, poured herself a large glass, and gulped it down in one go. Max chuckled a bit, thinking how silly and thirsty Chloe looked. 'Thirsty, much?' Max thought to herself, while pouring herself a smaller glass of water, to drink at NORMAL speed.

When the waiter returned, they ordered burgers. Chloe got an Angus Prime, whilst Max ordered a The Barbecue. After ordering, they both sat at the table and kept on talking and talking. There was still a lot to fill in on what had happened during the five years apart, and besides that, they talked a bit about last week's events, and what they meant. They had processed that week to the point where it didn't cause physical discomfort to talk about it, but the conversation clearly got dimmer as they hit that subject.

Fortunately, they had spent so much time talking about the five years, that they only barely managed to get into the subject of last week, before the waiter returned with their food.

Like the hungry wolf she was, Chloe dug into her burger like a fierce animal. 'We're gonna have to teach you a few table manners', Max thought as she too sank her teeth into her burger.

"Oh, my God. This is delicious!" Max exclaimed after letting her taste buds dance for a few seconds, rolling themselves in the good taste and texture.

"Mhmfff" Chloe said, while trying to shove her face deep into the burger. At least that's what it looked like to Max. Max gave her an embarrassed look, before blushing a bit. Fortunately, Chloe picked up on that hint, put the burger down, and got a napkin to wipe her mouth, before saying anything. "Sorry" she said in a low voice, looking apologetic.

"It's fine" Max said. "I know you're not used to eat a whole lot in public places other than at Two Whales"

"Copy that, I'll try to behave", Chloe said mockingly. Max knew that she was just making fun of her, and just stuck out her tongue in response.

After finishing their meal, they paid for the meal using the money they had taken from the principal's office. Max had had reservations against taking the money, but deep down she knew that it was most likely a bribe from the Prescotts. And it would be wrong if the school took bribes, right?

Before they knew it, they were back on the road again. The sun was about to go into hiding behind the mountains, so they would soon have to be on the lookout for a motel. Sure, Max had gotten used to the big city during her abstinence from Arcadia, but now that she was back, both Chloe and she wanted to stay somewhere… Less trafficked.

After a little while, the sun had receded behind the mountains, and darkness started to fall. Although the previous meal had given them the energy needed to keep on going, pure tiredness was eventually going to get the better of both girls. It was therefore time to find a place to hunker down for the night. Fortunately, they were just outside Olympia. Using google maps and trip advisor, Max, being the designated navigator, found that Hotel RL Olympia by Red Lion could be a neat place to stay for the night. Chloe followed Max' directions to the letter, and after a few "wrong turn" and "your other left", they wound up at the right place. As per usual, Max checked them both in, while Chloe parked the car and got the bags. After receiving their room keys, they headed for a nearby vending machine to get some soft drinks before going to their room.

*Click*. The door swung open, and their "palace" was awaiting. Closing the door behind her, Max put her bag by the desk in the room. Chloe barely had gotten her bag inside, before throwing herself on the bed.

Following her usual evening routine, it was time to hit go to bed. It was already late, and tomorrow they would have to try to finish their little road trip in one go. Max laid down on the left side of the queen-sized bed. It was a nice and soft bed with boring, plain white bedsheets. 'Boring, but really cozy. Hope I'll be able to sleep throughout the night'.

Chloe, on the other hand, had been watching a bit of television while Max was getting ready for bed. After Max had laid down, Chloe stood up and went to brush her teeth. Upon returning, she removed her shirt, her jeans, socks and beanie. Max just laid there and stared whilst the bluenette had undressed. Blushing a bit, she found her glance to be stuck on Chloe. The shy part of her wanted to look away, even while knowing what they were to each other. However, the other part of Max was locked onto Chloe, never wanting to shy down from anything about Chloe.

"Enjoying the view, Caulfield?" Chloe'd suddenly said. 'How did she know?! Does she have eyes in the back of her skull?' Max thought, yanking her eye focus off the half-naked girl.

"Hey, it's okay. Besides, you've seen a hella lot more than this" Chloe added. Max knew that, but it was that shy part of her that was in control now.

"Yeah, it's just… I'm still embarrassed with nudity, be it semi- or full-on" Max replied in a soft voice. Chloe could feel the head from Max' cheeks, even from almost across the room.

"Well, it's still pretty darn warm in this room, and I imagine it will be under those covers as well". Having said that, she turned towards Max. Chloe was getting ready to heat up the entire west coast with the warmth from Max' cheeks, if she was correct about how she would react.

Chloe took off her black bra, dropped it on the floor, and walked slowly and playfully over to the bed. Max' cheeks was, in fact, a very bright and clear red, but she didn't say a word. She just laid there and clearly enjoyed the view.

Chloe got in bed, and turned towards the stunned Max. Looking deeply into her beautiful blue eyes, she leaded in to kiss Max. Passionately. Their lips were mere inches away from each other. The tension rose, and time seemed to stop, yet it was not Max doing anything. Their lips finally touched, and sparks flew everywhere. Nothing else mattered in the world, and it felt like… Well, it felt nothing like anything before. It felt better than all the times she'd kissed Chloe in the past. A new tornado could've torn through Olympia, and neither Max nor Chloe would've noticed. All that mattered was this moment between them.


	8. Bad Signs

*CRACK*

A bright light had just flashed Max, and now a loud thunder made her ears ring. It felt like she had just been swept out of some lovely dream, and was now returning to the harsh reality. Her ears stopped ringing, and she was finally able to collect herself, if not for more than just a second or two. She felt small painful stings on her entire body. They were cold, like hundreds of tiny tiny needles stung her over and over. It was rain! 'What… What's happening?'

She looked around, trying to get some form of clue about what was happening. It was difficult to stand upright, as the powerful winds kept throwing off her balance. Something about all this was WAY too familiar, as if she'd just been here about a week ago. Exactly as if she'd been here a week ago. 'Shit! I'm back at the road to the lighthouse. How can this be? I saved Chloe. We've moved past this, universe!'

'I have to get to the lighthouse to see what's going on'. Max had gotten used to the wind knocking her off her feet by now, so she could mildly stabilize herself by now. Putting a hand up in front of her face, trying to ward off some wind and possibly some debris, she started walking upwards to the lighthouse, one foot in front of the other. It was a wiggly road, and the harsh winds made it look as if the entire forest was alive - all the bushes and trees trying to reach for her.

Struggling to walk in a straight line, she heard a load "creek" from the woods. 'Sounds like a tree falling!' Max looked up, and sure enough, she saw a tree headed straight for the path. She put her right hand out, and focused. Nothing. The tree kept on falling.

*THUD*

The tree hit the ground hard, and Max could definitely feel it through the ground. 'Shit! What do I do now?' The tree started rolling towards Max. She tried to back up, but was more or less frozen by the shock effect. 'Okay, Maxine! This tree is not going to stop, and you can't rewind. Time to use your legs! That's an order!'. Max finally snapped herself out of her little bubble, turned around, and started running. Against the wind, of course. It went slowly, but she was able to get a few meters back. That's when the tree had caught up with her. The tree rolled over her left foot, and as it did, Max felt a sharp pain from her foot. In hindsight, this had to have triggered something in her, because suddenly she could rewind time again. Her right hand was up a mere split-second after she'd felt the pain. It was probably a reflex from that earlier week.

But something was wrong. Max was not exactly able to rewind time. She was able to rewind herself. As her powers activated, she could feel herself running backwards, while time elsewhere stood still. She literally ran backwards! Surprised by this, she was only able to hold her focus for a few seconds, but it was enough to put her back up to the place where the tree had hit the ground.

'Okay, what the literal FUCK? What the hell is going on? My powers… Are they reversed suddenly?'. Max tried not to think too much about it, as she had to continue to the lighthouse, and her head felt like it was going to explode. The feeling resembled that one when she was on the roof top with Kate.

As she approached the hilltop, a new hindrance had appeared, as if this was some sort of sick game! A pile of stones started rolling towards her from the top of the hill. She quickly turned around, and started running down the path. Once she was confident that the rocks had rolled past the point here she'd walked, she reached her hand out once again, and tried to focus on the pain that she'd felt from the tree hitting her. And it worked. She was suddenly running backwards up towards the lighthouse. She passed the rocks- or should I say passed through the rocks, as that's what she did. She didn't feel anything from it, but it was disturbing, seeing her feet INSIDE rocks. Once she was clear of the rocks, she let go, and the rocks continued tumbling down the hillside.

Max fought tooth and nail to get to the top, but she finally did it. The light from the lighthouse was spinning, casting light over the bay and out into the coast. She was afraid of looking at what was waiting for her out in the bay, but she HAD to know. What if this was a warning sign, just like with the tornado? Was this another tornado? Max looked up, and out towards the bay.

A tornado was about to engulf the already half-demolished Arcadia Bay. This tornado almost looked bigger than the last one, although Max was unsure how that was even possible, considering the size of the previous. The wind was even stronger on the cliff, and it almost knocked her off it. She was able to catch herself just in time, leaning her body weight backwards, and hit the round, butt first!

She then noticed an object flying towards her. 'A body? Oh, God. I don't wanna look!'. Max closed her eyes, but she heard the big thump as the body hit the lighthouse. She couldn't stand it anymore. She had to look. What if she could save that person, by telling them to leave the bay. Then that person would be saved! Right? All this was going through Max' head as she tried to stumble her way towards the lighthouse. She saw two feet sticking out from behind a bush. That someone was wearing jeans. Ripped ones. She moved a bit closer, and could see the person's face.

"OH MY GOD! CHLOE! NOOOOO!" Max screamed when she saw her face. Laying there, eyes open, and looked up in the sky, Chloe looked exactly like she looked just recently. Then Max' heart almost stopped due to the fear and shock.

Chloe's head turned towards Max with a sudden yank. She was now staring Max dead in the eyes.

"You let me die, Max. You let me die, and it didn't change a thing. Everyone here is either dead or about to be. This is all your fault, Maxine. Couldn't trust you when dad died, and I guess I couldn't earlier this week. You're full of shit, Max!". Max was speechless, as she stood there, frozen in place, shocked by Chloe, her statement, and… everything. Fumbling, she tried to find some words to utter, but failed in general.

"I… I…" Max stuttered.

"Oh, bee-atch please!". Speechless for the first time, Max? Now try to find a nice save!" the lifeless Chloe said. Well, lifeless… She moved her lips when talking, but everything else was lifeless.

Suddenly, a strong wind pushed Max backwards, towards the edge. Finding herself at the very edge, she tried to regain her balance and move away from the cliff, but to no avail. She could barely stand up straight, and was unable to move.

"Oh, and now you're going to die too, Max. You'll just have to meet everyone you let die pretty soon, I guess. But not before I'm done with you!" Chloe said in an angry, yet somehow cheery tone. The final push from the wind came swooping, and Max fell backwards off the cliff edge. As she was falling, she could see that the lighthouse crumbled like a dry sand castle. 'This is it. I'm going to die now.' Max thought as she fell, closing her eyes and preparing for the end and judgement.

…

And then she woke up!


	9. Reality

"WOA!" Max yelled, as she rose up in the bed suddenly. Her heart was beating profoundly, she was hyperventilating, and she was sweating.

*Click*

A light turned on besides her. Chloe had heard the smaller brunette yell, and thought something was wrong. "Hey, Max. What's the matter?" When Max saw her face, all she could picture in her head was the Chloe from her dream. The one that accused her of killing the bluenette. The one that apparently resented her and cheered for her death.

"Nooo!" Max yelled as she backed out of the queen-sized bed in less than a second. She landed on the floor with a small thud. Her heart was beating even faster now, and although she wanted to hug Chloe, her fight-or-flight response had taken over, forcing her to flee a bit. She crawled into the corner of the wall, right next to a closet.

Chloe kept the light on, and immediately ran out of the bed and over to Max to comfort her. She wondered what had scared Max so badly, but she figured it had to be some really bad nightmare.

"Hey…" Chloe talked in a soft voice as she approached Max on the floor. She sat down next to her, and started gently stroking her hair, trying to calm max a bit.

"Chloe, I… It… It was…" Max began, but Chloe wouldn't have any of it. Not yet at least.

"Hey, Super-Max. It's okay. You don't have to talk about it, unless you want to. I'll always be here to look out for my first mate" Chloe said reassuringly.

"Chloe…" Those words were all that Max could get out, before she started crying. She buried her face into the taller girl's shoulder, crying her eyes out. Her heart felt like it was going to burst out from her chest. Chloe put her hands around Max to hold her tightly.

"I'll never leave you, Max." Chloe said, as she could feel tears trying to escape her beautiful blue eyes. As Max had her head in Chloe's shoulder, Chloe herself leaned her head into Max' hair, sitting there and humming for the petite brunette for a good while.

It was 3 AM, and Max had calmed down a lot. Chloe had found a cozy fleece blanket, and they were snuggled up pretty neatly on the floor, next to the closet. But they knew they couldn't- or rather shouldn't- spend the night there on the floor. Even though Max could not imagine Chloe leaver her side for a mere thing such as sleep. Besides, they COULD sleep on the floor. It'd just not be all that comfy… So in the end, they got back into bed, but Max refused to sleep without having Chloe hold her. "I'll be the big spoon, then" Chloe said. It was really just natural that the tallest girl would be the big spoon. And tonight, Max had no argument about Chloe being close to her and holding her tightly throughout the night.

Chloe landed a nice kiss on Max' neck. "I'll watch over you. Don't worry about a thing."

Although she knew it'd be difficult, Max tried to go to sleep. She was apparently more tired than she knew, because she was out stone cold in just a few minutes, to Chloe's surprise.

The next morning, it was time to get up and out of bed. By now the weather had shifted into a more October-y style, with clouds and a generally chilly temperature. Waking up, finding Chloe still holding around her, Max was relieved. With a huge yawn, she turned around in the bed, now facing Chloe. She could not get the disturbing image out of her head, that any second now, Chloe's eyes would jump open, and Chloe would start talking shit about Max again. 'Okay, calm down now. It was just a horrible, horrible dream, and I will get over it. This is the reality. Right? Right!'. Max tried to gently lift Chloe's hand off herself, so she could get up. However, Chloe was either dreaming or wide-awake, because in trying to lift the bluenette's arm, she rather tightened her grip around Max, and pulled her closer. 'Woah! Go easy on me, Chloe, or you'll break me', she thought to herself. 'Guess I'm trapped in my cabin by The Captain. Oh well, there are FAR worse things to happen'. She was kinda giddy about the thing, very much unlike how she'd been just that same night.

She was now close enough to feel Chloe's breathing on her face. Thoughts raced through her head. 'Maybe she'll let me go if I do this'. Not really wanting to wake Chloe, but still having to, she leaned in the extra few inches, where their lips met. 'So soft…'

Chloe woke up from that gentle kiss, because suddenly she kissed Max back. They both lied there in bed, facing each other and in each other's embrace, just enjoying each other. After what felt like an hour, yet somehow still felt like just a few seconds, Chloe opened her eyes, and the both broke the kiss.

"'Morning", Chloe said in a groggy voice. Max didn't really like to wake her up, but she had to if they were going to continue on their journey towards Seattle.

"Hey Chlo", Max said smiling. "Sorry to wake you, but you had me pretty locked in"

"That's the idea, dumbass" Chloe said, trying to put on her usual punk attitude, failing miserably

"Mmmm… Guess you're smarter than you give yourself credit for" Max said teasingly. She knew that Chloe was clever. She was even a straight "A" student in the alternate universe. And even in this universe, her school record files showed that she had potential, but chose not to show or use any of it for good. But Max didn't care. As long as Chloe was Chloe, she was happy.

After getting a quick shower, Max came back into the bedroom, only to find that Chloe's sleeping heart had overpowered her, and she was now laying with her head buried under the blankets. It wasn't sunny outside, but the natural day light was obviously enough for her to seek refuge in the pleasant darkness that her covers provided.

"Chlo. Come on, you dummy" Max said in a playful voice. "Time to get out of bed and get some chow".

"I hate mornings…" Chloe mumbled, before showing actual signs that she was conscious. She hit the showers, and got dressed for the day, wearing her usual white shirt, jeans, and that lovely beanie.

"Maybe when we get to Seattle, we'll have to get you some new clothes"

"Hey, what's wrong with this outfit?" Chloe asked

"Nothing, you know I love that outfit. Just thought you might want to switch out for something different. Maybe even try out a new style?" Max suggested. Chloe had to admit that her usual outfit was going to get worn out pretty quickly if she kept this up.

After sending her mom a rather short good-morning text, as she did every other day during her time outside Arcadia Bay (as per agreement with her mom when she called her for the first time after the storm), Chloe and Max checked out of their room at the hotel.

They continued their way towards Seattle. It was basically just about an hour drive to Max' parents, but they did want to take their time and enjoy the sights. So they stopped several times along the way. One time to gas up Chloe's truck, as it was begging for more gasoline, one time at a beautiful public garden, and one time at a wildlife refuge. Max had remembered that Chloe was quite fond of animals, despite her tough exterior, so she figured this would be a nice stop along their journey.

After a few nice photos of Chloe, the animals, Chloe with the animals, Max with Chloe and Max with the animals, Max was getting worried that she might soon run out of instant-film. Putting her camera back into her satchel, and just enjoying their time together, they did look like a couple, walking around hand in hand over a small bridge in the Refuge. It was still kinda cold, and Max figured she'd have to break out the autumn clothes and jackets from her closet at home. If she still had anything that fitted, that was. She did take most of her stuff to Blackwell, since she thought she'd be there for longer than just a month or so. 'Oh well, I'll deal with it when I get to it, I suppose'.

Once they had enjoyed their last bits of freedom between Arcadia and Seattle, it was time to head home. Max was a bit nervous, but she had others to think about as well.

'Wowsers. I'm about to go home again. Feels not too long ago since I left, and now I'm almost here again. It'll only be for a few weeks, so I guess I'll have to think of it as a vacation from everything else. Well, everything except Chloe. Whom I'm glad I'm not taking a vacation from. I've been away from her for far too long, and it's time we spend some real time together. Speaking of Chloe, I wonder how she'll react about going to my parent's. How will mom and dad react to her daughter having developed deep feelings for her best friend she's known since she was little? Well, to be honest, It doesn't matter if they disapprove. I love her, no matter what anyone else says!'.

Take a right here, Chloe.


	10. Finally Home

"Okay, keep going straight, and we'll be there in a few minutes"

Max was definitely excited to get home again, even after such a short time, because of recent events. But what she was a bit concerned about, was how her parents would react to her girlfriend. She was, of course, hoping they would be understanding and welcome her properly, and not make a big deal out of it, but a part of Max, deep inside her, was still pretty worried they might not like her because of her looks or attitude, or that they would simply not agree to let her stay there. When Max had previously talked with them on the phone, she didn't say that Chloe was her girlfriend. 'How would one say such a thing on the phone? Hey mom and dad, I survived a rapist murdering photographer, his ready-to-kill helper, who was a fellow student at Blackwell, a freak tornado, and now I'm coming home with my girlfriend, Chloe. You remember her, right? From five years ago? My best friend whom I left after her dad died tragically? Yeah, her. We're an item now. You won't mind us staying at home for some time, right?' Yeah, that'd sit well, Max thought sarcastically to herself.

"Where to now, Maxaroni?" Chloe sounded excited as she uttered the words. But, of course, why wouldn't she be exited? She hadn't met Max' parents for a long time now.

"Take a left here. It's the first house after the turn".

Chloe slowed down. A lot. She was visibly nervous, but she tried to conceal it as best she could. To no avail.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Chloe nodded

"We can stay at a hotel if you'd rather want to, and visit here when you feel ready" Max suggested

"No, I'm fine. I just… I just need to mentally prepare myself"

Chloe took a few deep breaths, going over in her head a few game rules she'd set for herself

'Okay, Chloe. To remember:

-Be nice

-Keep swearing to a bare minimum

-Don't blaze in their house

-Don't hate them for taking Max away from me back then'

"Okay, I'm ready" Chloe said, as she started turning into their driveway.

Nobody was outside to greet them. Which was actually fine by Max, so they could take their time. She hadn't notified her parents when they'd be coming home, so it'd be a bit of a surprise.

As Chloe shut off the engine, Max leaned in for a kiss.

"If they ask, I'll tell them. But if they don't, I wanna wait until tomorrow. I don't want to or need to hide you from anyone, it's just that I want our first night here to be without prejudices. Is that okay with you?" Max asked the bluenette

"Of course that's okay, dummy", Chloe replied quickly.

They both got out of the car, and headed towards the house.

The house was very nice-looking, according to Chloe. It was a bit different than her house in Arcadia, though. This was a relatively large house, with two floors. The ground floor and most of the second floor had a brick texture, but half the second floor had white planks instead of bricks. The entrance was sort of in the middle of the first and second floor.

They both went up the stairs, took a few deep breaths and looked at each other. Chloe looked even more nervous than before, and Max was also a bit nervous, but both of them was sure. So they rang the doorbell.

A bearded man opened the door, and looked at the two girls.

"MAX!" he said, before he embraced her and gave her a tight hug, almost to the point here she couldn't breathe properly.

"Hey dad!" Max said in a bit of a squeezed voice. Her father loosened his grip on her, so she could breathe again. She gasped a bit.

"And this must be Chloe" he said, and looked over at her. "I haven't seen you in a very long time. You've certainly changed" he said, trying to get to know this new punk girl, who looked very different since last time they'd seen each other.

"Yeah… After dad died, Max moved, and my best friend disappeared six months ago, things happened…" Chloe said, trying extremely hard to restrain herself from blowing up with "Why did you take her away", and "This is all your fault". She didn't want to start that shit with the Caulfields.

"I can see that… I'm sorry we moved away with Max right after William died. I can't imagine how hard that must've been for you" he said.

Max feared that mentioning William was going to set Chloe off, and she'd start raging against Ryan, but she was relieved to find that what Chloe said next.

"Thank you. It was… It was pretty bad" Chloe said, with no anger or smart remarks in her voice.

"Where the hell are my manners?! Come in, come in!" Ryan said, closing the door behind them.

"Welcome to the Caulfield residence, Chloe" he said in a bit of a silly voice. Although Chloe was not familiar with this new environment yet, she said thank you, still without clever remarks.

'Damn, dad. Either you hit the right spot with Chloe, or you're a secret magician. I don't really care which one it is, as long as you keep this up' Max thought to herself.

The all moved into the large living room, where they sat down in the large sofa. Except for Ryan.

"Wait here, I'll get her" he said in a bit of a low voice. He then went into the kitchen to find Vanessa, Max' mother.

Both Chloe and Max sat in silence in the living room, trying to eavesdrop on the conversation between her parents

"Who was at the door?" said a female voice faintly

"Just Max and Chloe. I sent them to a hotel" Ryan replied. Max and Chloe giggled a bit.

"YOU WHAT?!". Max and Chloe couldn't hold their laughter in any more, and started LOL-ing

Vanessa came running into the living room, where all the laughter came from. There they were. Both of the girls, sitting in the sofa, having a good time.

"Oh my God. You're back." Vanessa said, before running over to hug Max. She didn't hug nearly as tight as her father, though. So she was able to hug back and say "Yeah, mom. We're back".

"And Chloe. It's been years since the last time I saw you!", she continued.

"Yeah. About 5 years" Chloe said a bit coldly. She couldn't help it. Ryan had been really nice and apologetic about William from the second he said hello, but Vanessa hadn't. That disappointed Chloe a bit.

"Five years. Time really flies. You… um… Look different" Vanessa continued. Now Max was getting a bit concerned that she might push Chloe's wrong buttons.

"Yeah, mom. Five years, lots of things happens in five years. So, how've you and dad been since I left for Blackwell?" Max injected, trying to avoid a scene and a fight between her mom and girlfriend.

"We've been pretty good. Not a lot of new stuff that's happened. The neighbors got a new car, and sold their old one. Other than that, everything's been pretty quiet here at home and at work."

"Well… Old news are good news, I suppose" Max said.

After a bit of chit-chat and catching up, and a delicately resolved situation, Vanessa had also apologized for taking Max away from Chloe at such a difficult time. Chloe had accepted her apology as well, but still kinda liked Ryan better. He seemed a bit more laid back and relaxed about a lot of things, yet still came out as a genuinely nice and caring father. Vanessa was also very caring and quite nice, but seemed a bit stricter and more tightly wound than Ryan.

"We put a mattress into your room, Max. I hope that'll be okay for you to sleep on, Chloe?", Vanessa said.

"Yeah, it's probably just fine", Chloe replied.

"How about we go get the bags from the car, Chloe? Then we can go check it out ourselves." Max suggested.

"Cool" She replied.

Max and Chloe got their bags from the car, and went up to Max' room. It was a lot neater than Chloe's. Which didn't really take an effort at all, Chloe realized. 'Maybe I should do something about that some time…' she thought to herself. Max' room had a bright color scheme, and was nicely decorated with various objects- From hockey posters, to movie posters, to pretty decorative objects. It looked a bit like Chloe's room, minus the messiness. They unpacked their bags, and Chloe was given the top-half of Max' closet.

"So, whaddaya think?", Max asked Chloe when she was done unpacking her stuff.

"It's nice. Hella different from my place, but… nice" She replied.

"I'm glad you think so" Max said.

"Your parents seem nice as well. I don't remember them all that well, but can I be honest?" Chloe asked.

"Always"

"Well, your dad is cool. He seems relaxed and still it seems like he really cares for you and accepts me for being… me. He's not all that different from my dad." She said.

"But your mom", she continued. "You mom is a bit…". She stopped.

"I know what you mean. I don't think she dislikes you, I just think she needs to get to know you, and to be able to see past your hard, punk exterior" Max said.

"Punk exterior?" She asked

"Okay, you're a punk on the inside as well, but you know what I mean"

"Yeah"

The rest of the afternoon and evening went pretty well. The entire family chatted, watched some TV shows and a film, and ate homemade pizza in the evening. Not a bad way to spend the first night at her girlfriend's parent's house, Chloe thought. Max was snuggled up with Chloe most of the time. Close enough that they were together, but not close enough to arouse suspicion from her parents, Max thought.

"Well, it's late, and we're going to bed. Don't stay up all night and watch TV, you two", Ryan said

"Okay, dad. Good night" Max answered, before her parents went upstairs to their bedroom.

After a few minutes, Chloe turned over to Max to give her a kiss.

"A small kiss is alright, but if we want to do something... more... We'll have to wait for about half an hour or so, so that we're sure my parents are asleep

"Okay. What'll we do in the mean time?" Chloe asked, smiling at the thought that Max had suggested they do something... more... as she'd put it.

"We can watch some CSI Miami, if you want to"

After about half an hour of CSI Miami, Max and Chloe turned towards each other simultaneously, as if by thought control. They took a few deep, passionate kisses, only breaking when the need of air become too large for them.

"Should we go to your bedroom and continue there?" Chloe suggested

"Nah, it's closer to their bedroom; They might hear us. Especially if previous experience with you has anything to say"

"Point taken. Let's just continue here on the couch, then"


	11. Breakfast

The sun shined onto Max' face. This was a familiar feeling; her face being targeted in the morning by the bright sun. She opened her eyes a bit, only to feel a painful sting behind her eyes. 'Too bright!' she thought, after closing her eyes tightly, and tried to shift in the bed so that the sun wouldn't hit her. As she turned around, she found Chloe sleeping right next to her. Last night had been a fun night. They'd spent the evening on the downstairs sofa, making love for what seemed like hours, before finally retreating up to Max' bed to get some real sleep. Well, tried to get some sleep. That plan, however, failed, as they wound up continuing their last session in the bed for a bit.

'I think even rabbits have more self-control than we do'.

Chloe arm was, as always, locked around Max, so that she wouldn't escape her. This was actually fine by Max, as she didn't want to leave the bed just yet. And with Chloe's long arm around her, she felt extra safe.

"Max! Chloe! Breakfast!"

Chloe opened her eyes slowly, looking somewhat gracious as she did. Max had to wonder if she did it on purpose, or if this was somewhat accidental. Although she didn't want to waste time pondering that question. All that mattered was Chloe, looking beautiful as always. Max had gotten used to Chloe's breath by now, and she didn't think it smelled particularly bad… Unusual, perhaps. Of course, how many mouths had Max been smelling recently? She could probably count that number on one finger.

"Hey Chloe. It's breakfast time. You wanna get up and eat?" Max asked in a silky soft voice. This was like music in Chloe's ears.

"Yeah, I'm starving. I haven't eaten anything since last night" she replied

"But we didn't eat anything last night" Max replied with a baffled and confused look on her sweet face.

"Yea we did" Chloe replied, now grinning from ear to ear.

"Wha… Oh! You perv" Max replied, now understanding what Chloe meant.

"Hey, you seemed to enjoy it thoroughly"

"So did you", Max replied with a smirk.

"Alright, you got me. I definitely did" Chloe replied, also grinning.

"So… Breakfast?"

"Hella yeah!"

Downstairs, Ryan and Vanessa had already started eating a bit, and Max and Chloe both joined them at the dinner table in the kitchen. Max' mom and dad had left two seats open for Max and Chloe right next to each other, which was nice. They both got seated, and started eating and chit-chatting.

"So, how was the mattress?" Ryan asked Chloe. 'Oh, that mattress wasn't used at all, dad. But it was a nice gesture'.

"It was comfy. Worked out alright", Chloe replied, knowing full well that the mattress hadn't been touched at all.

"Glad you thought so", Ryan replied, smiling as he did. 'Oh shit! Does he know? Play it cool, Max… Nobody knows anything'.

"Anyway, what are you two going to do today?" Vanessa asked, derailing Max' train of thought.

"Ummm… I thought I'd show Chloe around Seattle a bit. You know, she hasn't been here before, so she's gotta check out some sights" Max said.

"And you can take some nice photos for when class starts up again", Chloe shot in. It was true, classes were going to start up again in a month or so. Having a few pictures for when they'd resume could be a good idea. Although she had to get some more instant-film, seeing as she'd spent every last piece on their road trip towards Seattle.

"That's nice for you two to check out some sights. How about we go out to dinner tonight?" Vanessa suggested. "Our treat, to welcome Chloe to the big city"

"Sound like a plan" Chloe said, with Max nodding.

After finishing the nice breakfast, they both went upstairs to get ready for a day out in Seattle. Max put on a new set of clothes, and threw her usual outfit to laundry. It was nice to actually be able to wear something that wasn't covered in sweat and tears for once. Chloe, being Chloe, wore her usual outfit. 'Wow. Her brown roots are showing again. Wonder if she'll re-dye her hair, or just let it grow?' Max wondered, as the girls got ready to head out.

Max went downstairs to wait for Chloe to find her keys, which she'd apparently lost in Max' room. How she managed to lose anything in that clean room was beyond Max' comprehension, but still, that was the case. Max didn't want to get in the way for Chloe, so she waited in the foyer. Vanessa was somewhere in the living room, watching some TV. Ryan came passing through the foyer just when Max was about to return to Chloe to check if everything was alright.

"Hey Max. So, you two are ready to head out, I guess?", Ryan said.

"Yeah, but Chloe somehow lost her keys in my room" Max replied, a bit eager to get out of the house with Chloe again, even though they just arrived yesterday

"Yeah, that's happened to me enough times that I know the stress you get from it... Listen, I think it's great having Chloe here. She seems really nice, and quite different from that little girl that used to hang out with you back then", Ryan said.

"Yeah, but although she looks different, I think she's just the same girl on the inside. She's just had a really tough time, and needed some way of coping…" Max replied.

"Heh, I have no doubt. Listen, I just wanted to say that I'm happy for you two, and that in the end, it was Chloe."

'What? How did you know? How long have you known? Does mom know? What?' Max instantly thought, as she started to blush.

"Oh, come on. I'm your dad. I know these things. The way you look at her, the way you look so relaxed around her. Speaking of, and this is just a friendly suggestion, you might want to keep it down a bit during the nights", he said

Now Max' cheeks were glowing, and she was getting pretty embarrassed that they'd heard them last night

"Hey, it's okay. Like I said, I'm happy for you two. You are obviously madly in love with each other, and I have absolutely no intentions of getting in the way."

Max calmed down a bit, hearing the reassuring words from her father. Still, her cheeks were a bit red. She started smiling, and so did Ryan. 'Damn right you won't be getting in the way' she thought jokingly to herself. Max gave Ryan a nice and tight hug, a tear almost appearing in the corner of her eye. She had never discussed any sexual orientation or stuff like that with her parents, but this talk with her father felt safe. And like she'd said earlier, Chloe wasn't going to be her secret. This way of coming out to her parents was a bit embarrassing, but at least it had been quick and painless.

"Found them!" Chloe said, coming down the stairs to find Max and her father hugging.

"Damn, what did I miss?" she said in a light tone.

"I'll tell you in the car, dummy" Max teased as they turned towards the door to leave.

"Bye, Ryan!" Chloe said to Max' father

"Bye, Chloe" he replied, smiling proudly of the two of them as they left the house.

"So, what was that about?" Chloe asked Max in the car as they started driving towards Lincoln Park. They figured it'd be a nice place to hang out and watch some beautiful scenery. They had to stop by a photo shop and pick up some instant-film for Max' camera, though.

"It was.. umm… A friendly reminder for us to be a bit more quiet next time". Max just laid the cards on the table.

"Oh… Wow… That was… Without any sugar coating. So, they both know about… you know… us?" Chloe replied, a bit distracted by the sudden news.

"I don't really know if both of them know, or just my dad. But it doesn't matter all that much. If mom doesn't know, we'll tell her tonight at dinner." Max said.

She continued, "But in any case, dad just wanted to let me know- to let US know, that he's okay with us, and that he's happy for us. That he welcomes you into the family with open arms".

"Well, that's… nice of him" Chloe replied with a relieved smile. She didn't really like the suspension weither or not Max' parents would approve of them, and if they'd have to get a hotel or something. For Max, Chloe was her life now, and she would never abandon her again, even if it meant staying at a hotel or just live on the road for the next foreseeable time.


	12. The Gift

*Click*

*Vrrr*

A mechanical shutter sound and a little whirr. A picture was printed out of the Polaroid camera. A photo of Chloe and Max at the space needle. Max had been reluctant to let anyone take a picture of her and her father when they had just moved to Seattle, but now she was with Chloe, and that called for some memory making.

"So, how do we look?" Chloe asked

"We look cute" Max replied, turning towards Chloe and giving her a little peck on the cheek. Chloe wasn't used to all these affections in public, but a small peck on the cheek she could manage.

After a good, long visit at the Space Needle, Chloe and Max decided it was about time to head home. It was getting late, seeing as they'd both visited Lincoln Park and spent a good amount of time walking along the boardwalk at the shoreline, taking a trip on the Seattle Great Wheel, going to the Seattle Aquarium to get some beautiful photos, and generally just having a good time together. They had shopped a few new clothes for both Max and Chloe, seeing as they had both left pretty much everything back in Arcadia. Getting a few new fresh clothes for the incoming season was therefore a must! Chloe had bought an outfit or two that wasn't exactly her style, as it was a result of one of Max' suggestions. The rest of the clothes she bought fit her style.

After a pretty eventful day, they headed home. Ryan and Vanessa was going to take Max and Chloe out to dinner, to celebrate them being "home" in Seattle.

"Are you going to wear that new outfit you got today?", Max asked Chloe. Chloe had escaped Max' view in one of the shops, and had apparently wandered off to get herself a nice outfit to wear on formal occasions. After a few minutes, she'd made a reappearance, but not letting Max know what she'd gotten.

"Yeah" Chloe answered a bit abruptly, but without any snapping in her tone.

She turned towards Max,

"I think you'll like it when you see it" she said, smiling at the brunette.

'It's not like Chloe to be this secreti- Wait, that's exactly like Chloe. But why does that both annoy me a bit, but at the same time excites me?'. Max was truly alone inside her head, dealing with a few internal struggles.

Max smiled back. "I know I will", she said.

"You know, we should probably hit the shower before getting all dressed and looking hella fancy" Chloe said with a smirk on her face

"Hmm… Probably" Max said with a seductive undertone, completely understanding where Chloe was going with this. But she had to admit to herself, these were perhaps the moments she enjoyed the most; Chloe trying to either seduce Max, or just flirting with her. It was something Max wouldn't normally do a whole lot, and it was something new for her. She had also gotten a thing for either annoying Chloe or teasing her back, taking a bit of control.

"The need to save water is probably over by now, but it doesn't hurt to conserve a bit" Max said teasingly with a smile.

Max looked across her bedroom, where Chloe sat on the edge of the bed, fiddling a bit with her bags and a bit with her phone, now looking up towards Max. Max started walking slowly over to Chloe, stopping in front of her, and holding a hand down towards her to help her up. Chloe took Max' hand and stood up, understanding that Max had definitely agreed to her suggestion! They then started walking towards the bathroom.

After a very enjoyable shower, Max had gotten dressed, and had gone downstairs to the living room to wait for Chloe to get ready. Max was wearing a dark red dress with a black band around her waist, a necklace with a small heart on it, and black high heels. 'Ugh. I hate wearing high heels. They are uncomfortable, they give me blisters, and they are unstable to walk around in. A broken ankle, just waiting to happen' she thought to herself while waiting, fiddling with a little package. Her parents was also getting ready, although they had given indications that they were pretty much good to go.

After about 5 more minutes of waiting, Chloe walked downstairs to the living room to meet Max. 'Wowser!' was all that went through Max' head, looking at the stunning girl that stood before her.

"Well, what do you think?" Chloe asked a bit nervously. This was FAAAR out of her comfort zone, but she was actually somewhat excited to go out a bit more formally than normal. Well, a lot more formally than normal, really. The last time Chloe had worn nice and formal clothes was… Well, it was before Rachel had gone missing. Quite some time before that.

"Wowser… You look… Amazing. Stunning. Words really don't do justice here…" Max tried to reply complete sentences, but they came out a bit stuttering.

"You really think so, Maximus?" Chloe answered, sounding pretty proud of herself. And rightfully so, considering that she was also well aware that Max hadn't seen her like this for many, many years.

"Definitely", Max replied, managing to say single-word sentences without sounding like a total dork. She could feel her skin getting warm and a bit wet, just under her nose. A small stream of red started drippling down, but she wiped it off before it could run off her face and onto anything else.

"How long have we been standing here?" Chloe asked, with her smile stretching from ear to ear. It was pretty clear at this point that Max had rewound a few times, to enjoy the moment.

"Not long enough" Max replied under her breath, looking at her beautiful girlfriend, wishing this moment could last for a long time. 'So this is what love feels like, I guess. I like it!' Max thought.

And with impeccable timing, Max' parents were also ready to head out, and came walking down the stairs. As they were getting ready, Max hatched a quick and simple plan to find out if the evening was going to be awkward or not. She took off her necklace without anyone noticing, and hid it in a small pocket in her dress.

"Oh, dad. I think I dropped my necklace somewhere in the living room. Can you help me look for it?" Max said innocently.

"Sure" Ryan answered, and walked over to the sofa where Max had been sitting, trying to look for the necklace. Chloe and Vanessa spent the time putting on their jackets / coats, and chatting a bit by the door.

"What's up, Max?" he said in a low voice over by the sofa, pretending to look for Max' necklace.

'How did he know I faked it? Does he have some mind-reading powers I don't know about?'

"How did you… Never mind, it's not important. I just wanted to know if mom knows about… You know. About Chloe and I?" Max said in an equally low voice, also pretending to search for that evasive necklace.

"Yeah, we both know. What I said earlier, it came from both your mother and I. We both love you equally much. Although your mother might have some… reservations… about you and Chloe spending the night in the same room, we both love and accept her into the family as if she was our own.", Ryan said reassuringly. Max' heart skipped a beat when hearing that, making her smile instantly. 'Thanks dad! Now to end the search for the missing necklace!'

She reached into her pocket, and managed to put her necklace on the sofa, right in front of her dad. He understood the hint, and picked it up.

"Hey, I found it, Max!" he said, faking a surprised tone in his voice.

"Awesome! Thanks dad!" She said, giving him a tight and affectionate hug, before putting the necklace, stepping over to the front door to put on a jacket, and leaving the house.

Neither Max nor Chloe knew where they were going to eat. It was apparently going to be a surprise, according to Max' dad. Although Max wasn't very fond of surprises. More often than not, they were unpleasant ones, or ones that she couldn't prepare very well for. At least they'd said that the dress code for the evening was formal / fancy. And that described Max and Chloe pretty well right now.

It turned out that the place they were going to eat at was the Metropolitan Grill, almost around the area where Max and Chloe had walked around earlier that very day. The interior of the place was pretty plain, but with lots of nice art and pictures on the walls, which was the thing that caught Max' eye. She even wrote down something on her cellphone as she was looking at a few of them, probably writing down some styles she'd have to try later at some point.

They had made reservations at a table at a corner, which meant sofas for everyone. Max and Chloe got seated right next to each other, and Ryan and Vanessa at the other end of the table. They didn't have to study the menu for a long time before they figured out what they were getting.

Max and Chloe figured that, since they were hungry, together and their parents were happy with them being together, they'd order something they could share. So they got a Rack of Lamb For Two, with a glass of red wine each. Chloe wasn't all that big on wine, but she could learn to like it. Also, it seemed to fit the occasion, she thought.

Ryan and Vanessa ordered Prime Ribs and Steak House Chicken respectively. Vanessa also ordered herself a glass of white wine, whilst Ryan ordered a non-alcoholic beer, since he was driving.

Whilst they awaited their food, they drank a few glasses of water and spent some time chatting. What they'd been doing during the day, some funny stories, and so on. Max and Chloe reminisced of the time they had tasted some wine over at Chloe's, and how they ended up spilling almost an entire bottle of red wine on Joyce's carpet. Vanessa almost had a heart attack from laughing at that story. Before the food had time to arrive, Max turned to Chloe, her face also turning into a bit more of a serious one.

"Chloe, ever since you came into my life again, it has had meaning. My time in Seattle was, no offense mom and dad, boring without you. Moving back to Arcadia, and finally meeting you again was… Well, it made me happy again. Albeit was not the way I wanted to get back in touch with you again, the events of that week brought us closer. And when we left Arcadia, I felt happy, as long as I was with you. I wanted to give you a token of our renewed friendship and as the mark of a new chapter for us. So… here." Max said with passion in each word that came out of her mouth, giving her the little package she had fiddled with earlier that evening.

"Max, you didn't have to get me anything… I don't have anything to give you back…" Chloe started, before Max shut her down.

"It's okay. It's just a silly little thing, but I thought it'd be perfect for you" Max said.

As Chloe unwrapped the present, Max' mom and dad watched closely, as they had not been invited on this plan of Max'.

After a moment of careful unwrapping of the paper, a small blue box started showing. The confused and shocked look on Chloe's face was priceless (pun not intended). She looked extremely surprised, and Max couldn't really read her emotions or what was racing through the bluenette's head. She opened the box, and there they were.

The small necklace with a female winking pirate skull looked back up at Chloe's watery eyes. Chloe held the small blue box with one hand, the other covering her mouth. Nobody had given her such a gift before, not even Rachel. This was one of the few times that Chloe lacked words, and although Max enjoyed that fact itself, this look on Chloe's face also made Max happier than she'd been in many years, possibly ever. Ryan and Vanessa was holding hands, leaning their heads against each other, enjoying the look of young love without saying anything or make themselves noticeable.

"Max, I… I don't know what to say…" Chloe managed to say, before almost starting to cry.

"You don't have to say anything, Chloe. Just know that I'll always be here for you, no matter what." Max replied before Chloe could say anything.

"Oh, Max! I love you" Chloe said, before giving Max a short- but passionate kiss, and a tight hug, trying to hide her eyes that were basically waiting to burst with tears.

Ryan and Vanessa both "awwww"-ed at the same time, looking at the two girls. After a few moments to catch herself, Chloe decided to put on her new necklace. She was still wearing the three-bullet necklace, but this one was shorter, so maybe it would fit. Chloe turned around, and Max put the necklace on Chloe. It was definitely shorter than the bullet necklace, but it did actually fit in quite nicely.

After a lovely dinner with many good tastes, and equally good conversations, it was about time to get out of the restaurant, and head back home. A nice and quiet drive, with Chloe resting her head on Max' shoulder, was the perfect ending to a lovely evening, really. It wasn't often that Chloe was relaxing on Max, since it was usually the opposite, but to Max, this felt right. 'I don't want to leave this car. I am soooo comfortable right now, you don't even know, Chlo. Is this how you feel every time I rest on you?' Max thought to herself, just enjoying the quiet whirring of the car engine, and the gentle pressure on the shoulder that Chloe was resting on.

After getting home again, they had slipped into sweat pants and T-shirts. It was a bit early for Max and Chloe to go to bed, and they didn't really want to spend a lot of time all dressed up for no particular reason. Max and Chloe was different in many ways, but the need to dress nicely was something they felt similar about; Wear it when you have a reason to.

After some time, Ryan and Vanessa looked at the clock, and noticed that it was actually pretty late. Tomorrow was Sunday, which meant that everyone could sleep in. This, however, didn't stop the two people with jobs to suffer from having their sleep cycles a bit messed up, which resulted in them going to bed at almost the exact same time every day of the week.

Same as with the night before, Chloe turned towards Max after about an hour of snuggling with Max in the living room sofa while watching TV.

"I'll have to give you something in return for this beautiful gift", Chloe said to Max, teasing her a bit.

"Mmmmm… Maybe something… But I won't tell you what that would be", Max replied, now in full-on teasing mode.

"Hmm… I'm sure I'll find something" Chloe said, before leaning over to Max for a long, wet kiss.

"I'm sure you will" Max replied after breaking the kiss, before jumping into another.


	13. The Voicemail

The rain tapped relatively gently on the bedroom window as it poured down outside. Dark clouds had gathered overhead, now threatening to strike lightning under them as they see fit.

Max wasn't fond of storms. In the past, she didn't really have anything in particular against them, other than the discomfort when the wind would push her around. However, after that week in Arcadia… She had changed, that much was clear.

Max woke up, entangled in a taller girl with beautiful blue hair, growing from brown roots. She smelled faintly of cigarettes, wine, and sleep. Max didn't really mind, as she had learned to connect this smell to safety, and being close to this girl made her feel safe, the same way she'd felt invincible when the two of them had ran around in Arcadia, playing pirates and plotting on taking over the world.

Suddenly, movement! Movement from that girl in Max' bed. She turned her head a bit to the side, before slowly opening her eyes, now looking directly at Max.

"Mmmm… Morning", she said.

"Hey, gorgeous. Sleep well?" Max replied, smiling just by looking at Chloe.

"Yeah. Last night was amazing!"

"Which part?" Max replied with a smirk

"All the parts, from dinner to relaxing, to… ''relaxing''"

"Hmmm… That was pretty amazing" Max said, the clever smirk fading over to just a very wide and genuine smile across her face.

With the wind picking up, the whole house shook a little, causing glasses in the cabinet downstairs to make a clirring sound. Max was a bit jumpy, with the rain and all, and this wind did not make it any better. She had a brief moment of panic, and looked franticly around, most likely to check that this was reality, and not some vision.

"Hey, Super Max" Chloe said, knowing full well that calling her "Super Max" was something that usually calmed Max down a bit, at least when it came from Chloe,

"You okay? You're here in this reality. You're not dreaming or anything" She continued.

"Chloe! Yeah, I… I know. It's just… I keep having these damn flashbacks of the lighthouse. Not like before, when I'd actually BE at the lighthouse multiple times throughout the week, just… Short images of when the tornado hit the Bay"

"Hey… Come here"

She rolled over towards Chloe again, and was now laying sideways facing her. Chloe put her long, strong-ish arms around Max, and held her tightly.

"I won't let anything happen to you. You are mine, and I am yours" she said.

As she had just uttered those words, a large gust of wind hit the house again, causing glasses in the cabinet downstairs to clirr again, this time a bit more forcefully. Max whimpered a bit, causing Chloe to pull her closer and hold her even tighter.

Today was a Sunday, and a lazy one too. With the bad weather outside, there was really no point of going outside. Unless one was in the mood to pretend to be back in Arcadia Bay with a smaller and much weaker version of the storm that'd raged there over a week ago.

Max and Chloe had gotten dressed in sweatpants and t-shirts, eaten breakfast, and now sat down in the sofa downstairs, watching some TV. There wasn't anything special on, but it was nice to just chill out with each other, snuggled up in each other's crook.

"In other news, the body of Nathan Prescott, son of Sean Prescott, was discovered today in a remote location in Arcadia Bay. It is unknown at this time how long he's been dead, but was reported missing on Friday the 11th, just a few hours before a large tornado was headed for Arcadia Bay. It is assumed that he might be another person to fall victim for the actions of the photographer Mark Jefferson, who was arrested Thursday night by a local war veteran, alongside with the local police."

Max and Chloe wasn't prepared for those news, and kinda just sat there in awe, hearing the sudden news. Chloe's awe turned into a "I hate you, and this is justice" look, which Max noticed. She thought it was time Chloe learned the truth about Nathan.

"Chloe… There's something… Something you should know…" Max said in a saddened voice. She hadn't told Chloe about this yet, but she felt that this was as good of a time as any to do so.

"Max, I knew that Nathan is long dead. You told me outside the school party, when you were still jumping through time." Chloe said, obviously content with the outcome, but it was good for her to hear the news through official television.

"Chloe, look at me". Chloe turned towards Max, and she had her full attention.

"When I had just escaped the Dark Room, I took Mark Jefferson's car in order to get to the Two Whales, to get the photo so I could go back in time. But I never told you this next part…" Max started, her voice getting sadder and sadder for every word she said.

"When I was almost at the main street, I got a voice mail. Well, a delayed one. It was… It was from Nathan" she said.

"Fuck! What did that prick have to say to you, after all this?" Chloe replied in an angry voice.

"Chloe, shut up!" Max snapped back at Chloe. She was extremely emotional, and Chloe hadn't really noticed all that well, until Max had just told her to shut up.

"Sorry… I'm listening" she said in an apologetic voice.

"Here. Have a listen yourself" Max said as she pulled out her phone, and found the voicemail she'd gotten in this reality. It was the same as in the other reality, because Nathan had probably sent it Thursday evening, before he'd gone missing.

As the voicemail played, Max noticed that Chloe wasn't angry, like she had been just a few moments ago. No, Chloe was actually very sad when she heard the voicemail. At some point, Max was certain that she saw a tear in the corner of the bluenette's eye.

After the voice mail had finished it's recording, Chloe just sat there on the sofa for a few seconds, emotionless, just staring out into nothingness.

"Chloe… Are you okay?" Max said carefully, not trying to provoke her in the wrong way

Chloe was now looking directly at Max for a few seconds, not moving a muscle. And then she broke.

"Max… Oh, Max…" She said, before hugging the smaller girl tightly.

"I… I didn't want… this. Not after… Oh, shit, Max" Chloe was now full-on crying, attempting to squeeze the words out of her tightened throat.

"He was a prick and an asshole, but… He sounded scared… He sounded…"

"…Like an actual human being?" Max interjected.

"Yes. What did you tell me earlier, that he… *sob* that he was mentally disturbed, and was on medication?" Chloe continued crying.

"Yes" Max said, herself almost breaking into a cry.

"Fuck, Max. Nobody deserves that… Not even him… Not even after everything that happened".

"I know, Chloe… Nobody does"

After a few minutes with crying, both Max and Chloe had calmed down a bit, tears now just accumulating in their eyes, and not fully escaping.

"Jeffershit" Chloe said in a slightly angry voice. Mixed with her current sad feeling, it had a lot of power, as Max looked up at Chloe.

"It's all Jeffershit's fault. Do you know when the trial starts?"

"No…" Max said in a disappointed voice.

"It's okay. When the time comes, if you're ready, we'll ensure that he never sees the light of day ever again" Chloe said encouragingly, hoping that they could help making sure that the name "Mark Jefferson" would be a forgotten name, and just be connected to a feeling of hate and disgust.

The rest of the day went slowly onwards, and basically included reading, listening to music, watching TV, and eating. A this point, this day had been all about tearing up old soars to clean them, and let them heal properly afterwards. Not pleasant, but necessary nonetheless.


	14. Visions of The Future

The sound of the sea had a calming effect on Max. Although she was already pretty calm, it was even better now. The sun had a bright shine to it, although sometimes being covered behind clouds. The seagulls was yelling at everyone and everything, and a slight breeze removed any warmth the sun provided to people's faces.

Max stood on one of the piers and looked out into the bay. It was quite calm, the waves not breaking onto themselves due to wind, but rather just slowly crept in towards land. The reflection of the sun in the water was bright, but Max was wearing a pair of sunglasses, so it didn't bother her too much.

'This will be a perfect shot' she thought to herself as she pulled out her polaroid camera from her satchel. She turned around, so she had the bay in the background, and positioned herself so that the sun wouldn't blind the camera, and ruin the picture.

*Click* The sound of the mechanical shutter was like music to her ears, as it meant she had just preformed a passion of hers; Shooting photos

*Vrrrr*. The sound of printing a photo. A sound that would produce the evidence that a moment had been captured, possibly forever. The sound pleased Max as well, but the shutter was her favorite.

Well, almost her favorite. She had recently gotten a new favorite sound.

"What'cha doin', Super-Max?"

That sound was perfect. It was connected to adventure, exploration, safety, sadness and love.

"Waiting for you, of course" Max replied smiling, totally forgetting about the photo hanging from her camera.

Chloe loved that smile. That smile could melt an icecap if it had the chance. It was sweet, longing, trusting, and passionate. It meant the world to Chloe, and life wouldn't be the same without that smile.

Chloe had bought two small ice creams in cones. It was chilly outside, but they hadn't had ice cream for five years, and now it was time. Max had gotten a vanilla flavor with strawberry sprinkle on top. Max was very fond of strawberries, so it really was a no-brainer.

Chloe, on the other hand, being her rebellious self, had gotten a shave-ice with blueberry-flavored syrup.

The girls stood on the pier, looking out at the Bay and the busyness of the boats. Small fishing boats, private pleasure crafts, ferries, sailboats, and so on. Today they had planned to head over to the west side of Seattle, to the North Admiral. There they'd check out some stores, and just do a walkabout. Max hadn't really been there a whole lot in five years, and had forgotten what it was like. However, they'd been driving around all week, and both Max and Chloe had agreed that they might want to save on some gas, as well as wear and tear on Chloe's car, so they'd take a ferry. So there they stood, the two girls who was madly in love and couldn't get enough of each other, waiting at the Seattle Ferry Terminal.

Max actually really liked shave-ice, but she admittedly liked ice cream in a cone better. However, that didn't stop her from stealing a taste sample from Chloe's shave-ice. As revenge, she did the same.

"Hey!" Max said in a fabricated offended voice.

Chloe just smiled and chuckled at Max' voice. Max herself couldn't help but giggle when Chloe started smiling. 'This is a good start for the day' she thought.

Ryan and Vanessa was at work whilst Max and Chloe was out on their little excursion. Today was Wednesday the 23rd, and it was just over a week until they would have to leave Seattle again. So they figured they should make the most of out their time in Seattle, as it could be a while until they'd return.

Incidentally, after finishing their ice cream and shave-ice, the ferry was about to dock at the pier. The fare cost about $5 each, which wasn't a very steep price, but they might have saved more money by taking the car, after all. Oh, well. Since they had gotten a thousand dollars back from Frank, since they really had paid too much, they had a bit of money they could spend on together-stuff. They had spent a few hundred dollars on their way towards Seattle, but some of the motels demanded payment by card, which Max had taken on her card.

Also, now they could sit down somewhere and drink wine, like normal adults. Only thing was, they weren't normal adults, were they?

The ferry trip went without a hitch. The calm waves gently rocked the ferry a bit to the sides, but nothing that Max nor Chloe disliked. They had been out fishing a few times back in Arcadia Bay, a few years ago. They weren't old enough to really enjoy the waiting, but the boat life wasn't something they resented.

As the ferry had moored at the docks, they disembarked. There they were met by a restaurant situated almost on the docks, and a parking lot, as well as quite a few people. It seemed that the ferry was plenty busy, even in the normal working days of the week.

They both figured that the first thing to do in West Seattle was to head over to the Moondrop Coffee & Tea. It was a small and cozy coffee shop, where both Max and Chloe had gotten a plain, black coffee to wash out the taste of ice cream in their mouths.

After a good half-hour of chatting and coffee drinking, they decided to head north, and follow the half-island around as far as they bothered. As they walked, they stopped to take photos and look at statues and landmarks as they passed them. The wind was a bit stronger here, coming in from the North, and hitting the half-island head on. It made the trip a bit less fun, but they generally enjoyed themselves nonetheless, and the presence of each other probably helped that a lot.

Suddenly, Max' head started to hurt. A lot. She grabbed her hand and bent forwards due to the pain. "Max?" Chloe said in a scared and concerned voice, and she grabbed her before Max fell down on the sidewalk. "Max!"

There it was again. The tornado! The same tornado that Max had seen in her previous nightmare. Was it real? Was this a flash back or a flash forward?

'What's going on? Why is this happening to me?' Max thought. She wasn't actually there, this time. She merely saw images of a huge tornado, creeping in towards land somewhere. There weren't many things that could tell her where this was. All that she could see was trees that all bent down to give full view to the incoming tornado. The edge of it couldn't be more than a few hundred meters away from where Max was standing.

As the forceful wind was blowing, branches and debris flew all over the place. Suddenly, a large piece of wood came flying directly towards where Max was watching.

And then it all went dark

She slowly opened her eyes. Her head felt like it was going to burst, and she was disoriented. As she opened her eyes a bit, her hearing started to come back.

"Max…" she heard faintly. Everything was a bright white, and the voice was almost drowned in silence.

"Max!" she could now hear a lot clearer. The whiteness faded, and her eye sight returned. The face that met Max as she woke up was the best one that could've met her. There she was, her blue hair waving in the wind, her beautiful eyes looking down at her concerned but relieved.

"Hey… You went away for a moment, there" The voice was the sweetest sound in the world, and it was talking to her!

"Ughhh…" Max uttered, before putting a hand on her head. She was still in pain, although it was not as bad as when she had passed out.

"Jesus, Max! You just… dropped. Like you did at the lighthouse"

"Ugh, my head…" Max said, sitting up. Chloe had carried her over to a field of grass next to the sidewalk, where she had sat down and watched over her.

"Are you okay? Should I take you to the hospital or something?"

"No, it's… it's fine. I just need to catch my breath" Max said, already showing signs of her feeling better.

"Look, there's a corner shop right across the road. I'll go and get you a bottle of water. Are you okay sitting here for a minute?" Chloe asked, concerned for Max. She knew by now that Max usually recovered pretty well on her own after a vision, but getting her some water might help her a bit.

"Sure" Max replied, still sounding fatigued, but at least her headache had receded into just a mild one.

After a quick two minutes, Chloe was back at Max' side. She'd bought two water bottles, and gave one of them to Max. Once Max had taken a small sip, she took another. And then another. And suddenly, the bottle was half empty.

"Damn, Max. Are your powers fueled by water?" Chloe joked, trying to brighten the general mood a bit.

Max just smiled at her, being glad to be back again.

"If you want to… you know, talk about what you saw, I'm here. I'll always be here". Chloe said. She hadn't broken down her tough exterior, but Max was happy with that. She knew anyway that Chloe was a bit mushy underneath that exterior.

"Thanks, Chlo. I… I'll tell you later, okay? I don't really want to think about it right now" Max said while Chloe helped Max off the ground.

"Sure, no problem. Whenever you're ready"

"I think I'll be okay. You wanna wader onwards before we head back?"

"Max Caulfield, I thought you'd never ask" Chloe did her silly voice and act, but Max loved it. She took the bluenette's hand in her own, and they continued for an hour or so, before turning around to head back home again.


	15. Interruptions

The sun was at its highest point. Its rays reached down and gently touched people's faces, without a lot of warmth. The sun was occasionally blocked by long, lazy clouds that stretched for miles. However, the sun was able to poke a few holes in the clouds that blocked it, forcing a few rays of sunshine down.

This was a good opportunity to do a shoot, Max thought, as the rays had broken through the clouds and landed on the water, on Lake Union.

Max decided to do two photos of this view. A proper one, where she would try to catch the rays enjoying their freedom from breaking out behind the clouds and hit the gentle waters, and one selfie with the rays in the background. 'That'll look neat' she thought.

The first photo went without a hitch. The usual click and whirr came and went, and a beautiful photo was suddenly in Max' hands.

'Hmm… Looks good, Max! Okay, now for the selfie!'

With the camera pointed towards herself, she put on a little smile, before pressing the button

A click and a whirr later, and the new photo was out in the cold light of day. Max looked at it after it had developed.

'Hmmm… Not really good… I'm blocking the sunrays. Let's do one more!'

Again she turned the camera towards herself, tried to line herself up pretty good, put on a little smile, and it was time to try again

"Photobomb!"

Chloe had come up besides Max, and had inserted herself into the view of the camera.

*Click* *Vrrrr*

"Photo hog!" Max replied, smiling at the fact that Chloe was here again. It was a reminder of the Wednesday morning, when Max had taken that lovely selfie of herself, and where Chloe had done the exact same thing. That day would always be special for the both of them, as that was the day they had shared their first kiss. It was really just a peck on the lips, but it was a special moment for Max.

Max and Chloe had always liked each other as friends, since when they'd first met when they were just kids. After that, they had been almost inseparable. When in their tweens, Chloe had begun to crush on Max a bit, but she didn't think much of it at the time, mixing that feeling with just really close friendship. Max had not enjoyed the whole "moving to Seattle" thing. Chloe was her closest and pretty much only real friend that she had growing up, and being away from her for five years was a thought she wasn't fond of, even today. Especially today.

After she had rescued Chloe from Nathan, then gotten her out of the situation in the parking lot, things had just escalated from there. Hanging out with Chloe at her home again, after all those years, had been a magical moment. The memories that ran through that place…

And then fast-forward three weeks, and suddenly they were in Seattle together, living with Max' parents, taking long walks and enjoying each other's company during all the hours of the day.

"So, how did it turn out?" Max heard coming from behind her

"Perfectly" she replied, without looking at the photo, instead just turning her head around as far as it could reach, and kissed the bluenette that was leaning a bit on her shoulder.

No complaints from Chloe, of course.

Their kiss was unfortunately and unwillingly broken by some guy that was apparently collecting money for a charity.

"Hi. Sorry for interrupting your little moment… I was wondering if you'd like to donate some money to the research of stroke…" he started saying, before Max could notice that Chloe was heating up. If she didn't do anything, she might explode in his face and cause a scene. 'Not wanted!'

But it was too late. Chloe's fuse had burned up all the way, and she was about to go off.

"EXCUSE YOU!" she said,

"We were kinda having a moment here. And you fucked it up because you are begging for money for something that might be sad, but that's something that I can't relate to, and therefore I don't fucking care about it! Now please, get the fuck out of our faces!"

Max knew that Chloe was rough around the edges, but was that really necessary? She did just blow up in some dude's face for a pretty shitty reason. She could've handled that a lot better.

"Hi. Sorry for interrupting your little moment…" was all that he could say this time, before Max stepped in.

"Yea, hi. It's kinda rude to interrupt people like that. No, we don't wish to donate. Have a nice day!" Max said, before returning her attention to Chloe.

"Max, did you just rewind?" Chloe asked in a bit of a serious tone.

"Yeah… You kinda yelled at that guy and caused quite the scene. I mean, sure it's rude to interrupt people like that, but…"

"…but he doesn't deserve that?" Chloe shot in before Max could find her words.

"Listen, I'm sure I said some pretty bad stuff, and I know that might be wrong of me to do and say. But… People learn from their mistakes, I've heard. And what am I going to learn if I can't make any? I understand that you want to protect and save me and everyone, and I appreciate that in life-threatening situations. But with the small things, we need to make those mistakes in order to learn from them. Now, I've not really learned anything about yelling at people, and I'm probably going to make that mistake again.

I appreciate what you're trying to do, but in some instances… Just let it go. Please?"

Max was without words. This came out quite suddenly, as it seemed that Chloe had no problem with Max using her powers before.

"I… I didn't realize…" Max stuttered

"Hey, it's okay. I'm not mad or anything. It's just… you know…"

"Yeah…" Max said

An awkward silence appeared.

After letting it hang over them for a few moments, Chloe decided to break it

"Wanna go see a movie?" Chloe asked out of the blue.

"A movie? Where did that come from?" Max replied, not expecting Chloe to suggest a movie. Not that she didn't think Chloe wouldn't enjoy a good movie, but more so that Max was used to planning when to see a movie at least a day or two in advance. This was somewhat unexpected.

"Nowhere. Let's be a bit spontaneous!" Chloe sounded excited. These last few days in Seattle had been quite planned out, and to be fair, was probably a tad bit… boring… for Chloe.

"Umm… Okay. What do you wanna see?" Max replied a bit confused. She felt she needed to indulge Chloe, but upon thinking about it, it could be fun to be a bit more spontaneous.

"Nothing in particular. Let's go to the movies, and pick when we get there." Chloe said, now actually sounding waaay excited. At least a lot more than Max was internally. Max was a structured person, who wasn't really all about doing things suddenly.

'What's the worst thing that can happen? Loosen up, Max' she thought

"Ummm… Okay. Let's do it!" Max agreed, trying to sound a bit more eager than she actually was.

"Wow! That movie was amazeballs!" Chloe excitedly said after coming out of the cinema.

"Yeah! I thought about watching it when it first came out, but ironically, time just kinda disappeared" Max replied.

"Hah! Glad you didn't, though."

"Yea. It was great watching it with you. Although, I'd watch anything as long as I could watch it with you" Max said, leaning her head against one of the bluenette's wide shoulders while holding her hand on the other. Chloe put her hand around Max as they walked back to where ever she'd parked her car.

Well and sound home, they both spent pretty much the remainder of the evening in the living room with Ryan and Vanessa, watching TV and cuddling. They both knew by now that Max' parents didn't have a problem with them being together, and they certainly didn't make any scenes of it, as long as they kept the volume down a bit.

After a relatively uneventful day, and after Ryan and Vanessa had gone to bed, Max and Chloe laid stretched out on the downstairs sofa, just relaxing and cuddling with each other. Max wanted to tell Chloe about her vision earlier, but wasn't sure this was the perfect time. For now, all she wanted to do was to forget about everything that'd happened, and just focus on this moment with Chloe at her side.

Chloe leaned up towards Max, and gave her a passionate kiss. It was obvious that she was in the mood for something, but Max just didn't feel it tonight.

"Thanks, Chlo. But I don't think I'm up for anything more than that tonight" she said

Chloe looked a bit disappointed, but definitely understood and respected Max' feelings.

"Of course," She said in a low voice. "We can just cuddle throughout the night if that's what you want" she continued.

"Thanks" Max replied, giving the bluenette a kiss back, before the two of them went back to just relaxing and cuddling on that sofa throughout the night.


	16. Hangover and Bacon

"'Morning!"

Max tried to force her eyes open, but she couldn't really do it. They were like glued shut. She could manage to produce some noise to let Chloe know that she'd heard her.

"MMmnnngggggg…" she managed to grunt out.

She was halfway entangled in Chloe's arms and legs, and halfway entangled in the bedsheets. The warm feeling from them. Like she never wanted to part ways with them. The bedsheets were also nice.

A few minutes after hitting the snooze button on Chloe, she tried again to wake up Max. Although they COULD technically stay in bed all day, they both knew deep inside that it wouldn't be the smartest thing to do, and that they should probably try to get up and have some breakfast.

Max attempted the snooze button on Chloe again, by giving out another grunt. This time, however, that trick didn't work.

"Wakey wakey" Chloe said in a soft voice, trying to bait Max out of the dreamlands with sweet talk. This, however, she should've known would be futile, as that was exactly what it was.

'Okay Chloe, let's try this then' she thought.

"Max. You can't lay in bed all day. We've got things to do, places to be, etc." Chloe said in a more determined voice.

Again, all she could get from Max was a grunt, and some movement, showing signs that she was at least alive and possibly listening on what Chloe was saying.

'Okay, Chloe. Third time's the charm' she thought. 'Max could never resist the sound and smell of sizzling bacon'. She knew that if something was going to wake Max up, this would be it.

Chloe somehow managed to navigate herself out of the maze that was Max' arms and legs. They were entangled pretty well, but with a little bit of time and energy, she managed to slip out. Now Max was hugging the bedsheets, obviously not particularly happy about Chloe leaving the bed. Granted, it had been quite the fun night last night, as they had been out to a bar and had a few drinks. Not enough to get plastered, at least, but enough to loosen up a bit and have some fun. Chloe was at least able to remember the entire night, and there wasn't any incidents that'd happened, so that was a good thing. Max wasn't very fond of alcohol, but when it came to wine and some sweet drinks, Chloe knew that Max couldn't resist for very long.

Chloe got up from the bed, and walked downstairs. Ryan and Vanessa was at work, so they had the entire house. Chloe had kinda lost track of what day it was, seeing as they were basically on a vacation for another 6 days before having to return to Arcadia. Which was actually fine by Chloe. Sure, the whole big city thing was kinda cool, and they had seen a few places and had a lot of fun together, Chloe actually missed Arcadia. Which, at first thought, sickened her. But after thinking about it, it was the place where they had experienced everything together. The place they had first met, the place they had played as pirates, the place they had started getting feelings for each other… That place would always be special in their hearts. Although there being a lot of bitterness there, at least on Chloe's end, it wasn't THAT bad of a place, really. Was it?

After a bit of pondering, Chloe snapped out of her thoughts, and started making some bacon. She searched the actually-well-stocked cabinets, and found a frying pan. And then she was sorta stuck.

Chloe wasn't exactly the best chef there ever was. She knew how to use a microwave, and how to cook some REALLY basic things, like boiling eggs and making toast. But how to perfectly cook bacon, and more advanced stuff than that? She hadn't really learned it.

Granted, when she was younger, she did make pancakes with her father a few times. But seeing as they had made pancakes the same day before he died… Chloe kinda connected pretty much everything that had happened that day to sadness, grief and unpleasant thoughts. So she was kinda over pancakes, and she was definitely not going to make pancakes anytime soon.

She spent a few minutes on her phone to check some videos and instructions on how to properly make bacon.

'Okay, Chloe. First, heat the pan. Check! Next, find the bacon. Check. Now put the bacon on the hot pan. Check'. As the bacon made contact with the hot pan, the bacon started sizzling, and spitting bacon grease all over the stove.

'Okay, I can clean it up afterwards. No worries. What comes next… Aha! "Flip the bacon on its other side when it has gotten some color". Okay, I can do that.' Chloe carefully lifted the bacon with a spatula to check the underside. It had started getting some black spots, but looked generally nice. She flipped it over to its other side, and as she did, the bacon erupted with grease once again. One drop of flying grease obviously didn't care too much for Chloe's cooking, as it went flying straight onto her arm.

"Ouch!" she yelled, feeling the burn of boiling hot grease on her bare skin. She went over to the sink to cool the burn area with some cold water. It felt nice, and after a few seconds, the pain had all passed. 'Okay, time to return to the bacon'.

She carefully lifted the bacon once again, to check the other side. It had no black spots, and had gotten a nice golden-brown color. 'Perfect!'

She put the bacon piece on a paper towel to dry off the fat and grease, and repeated the process with 3 more pieces. After getting them all cooked nicely, she gathered some slices of bread, some ham, a few leaves of lettuce, and a few slices of cheese. She then made it all into two beautiful sandwiches. She took a step back to admire her creation.

'Well, well. I guess I can make some nice-looking sandwiches. Now to get them quality approved!'

She got two glasses of orange juice, and got two small plates, and put one sandwich on each of them. She found a tray from the kitchen, put everything on it, and carried it upstairs.

Max was still fast asleep, somehow even more entangled in the bedsheets than before. She looked like a mess, but a beautiful mess.

"Wake up, Max." Chloe tried first. Only grunts in response.

"I made bacon!" She tried, hopeful that would work.

"Mmmmmm… Bacon?" she heard coming from the mess. She clearly had her attention.

"Yeah… But if you don't get up, I'm gonna eat it all" Chloe teased.

"Don't you dare" Max laughed, trying to un-entangle herself from the bedsheets. She sat up in the bed, and forced her eyes open. They were tired eyes, and she could probably do with some more sleep. But who had time for sleep, right? No reason to sleep when there was bacon in the vicinity.

Max looked perplexed at Chloe.

"Did you actually make these?" She asked, first looking at the beautiful sandwiches, then back up at the bluenette.

"Yeah I did" Chloe responded, sounding really proud.

"And these were not bought? Not microwave-ready?" Max teased, mocking Chloe's cooking skills a bit.

"Shut up!" Chloe responded smiling at the offensive comment. "Try one!"

Max took a bite of her sandwich. Her eyes widened a bit as the taste finally was processed by her brain.

"My God, it's delicious!" she said, sounding sincere.

She took another bite. It was just as good as the previous one.

"Oh, my gosh. What have I done to deserve you?" she asked rhetorically

"Well, you did save my life a good few times. I figured I'd repay you" Chloe answered anyway.

"One good sandwich for saving your life a few times? I think you're selling yourself a bit short" Max teased.

"One REALLY good sandwich" Chloe corrected Max. They both started laughing at the absurdity of that whole thought.

After a really nice breakfast, it was time to get out of bed, finally. Both Chloe and Max had a quick shower, before getting dressed, and be ready for the day.

Except that they didn't really know what to do today. They had been to most of the places Max had wanted Chloe to see, and there really wasn't a whole lot left to do. The thought kinda scared Max a bit, seeing as they still had a few days left in Seattle. What were they going to fill those days with? These were thoughts that hadn't crossed Max' mind before, but now they seemed essential.

"Ummm… I'm not really sure what we could do today, Chlo. I mean, I have showed you most of the special things in Seattle that I know of." Max said.

"That's okay. We can have a lazy day at home today, regaining some strength after last night out"

'Oh, that's right. We went out last night. I'd totally forgotten about it. Let's see, what happened? Chloe and I went out to a bar. Well, it was a place of entertainment and drinks. There was a comedy show… I liked the comedian, as he made some really funny jokes. Then Chloe ordered me a drink. I drank it. Then I ordered a drink for me and another drink for her.

And then we went home, I think. We… enjoyed ourselves here. Wow, it feels a lot better when doing it sober than when drunk. Then we fell asleep, and Chloe just woke me up with the best sandwich I've ever tasted. Well, pretty close to it, at least.'

"Last night was…" Max begun.

"… something out of the ordinary" she continued.

"Yeah. It was fun with the show and everything. You got a bit drunk. You remember everything okay?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah, I think so. It's just an unusual feeling. I don't normally go out, party, or get drunk" Max replied.

"Yeah, I figured. At the time it seemed like you had fun. Do you regret going out?"

"No, I don't think so. Let's just not do it every night, and I think I'll be all right"


	17. Second Thoughts

Max sighed.

Of course the principal had sent homework for every student at Blackwell whilst the school prepared to re-open. Studying wasn't particularly fun, but it was necessary in order to actually learn something.

Max sat in the brightly colored kitchen and read at the dinner table. Her parents were at work, as usual, so it was just her and Chloe there.

"Urgh!" Max sighed, as she laid her head down into her arms on the table.

"This stuff is heavy…" she muttered.

"Hey, come on now. It's not THAT bad, is it?" Chloe responded. She was also in the kitchen, making food. She had really picked up on cooking these last few days, and had actually gotten pretty good at it. She made everything from really good sandwiches "à la Chloe", to pretty good dinners, and was now moving over to the field of baking and desserts. She was currently making something yummy, but wouldn't tell Max what it was. Which Max had pouted a bit about, especially since the stuff she was reading was dry as sands, and she needed a few distractions now and again.

"It's worse. Have you ever even heard of Mordançage? Or how about Chrysotype?" Max asked, sounding defeated as she did.

"Umm… Not really… But I know something that could help" Chloe replied, leading Max on.

"What's that?" she muttered a reply, looking extremely tired. 'Poor Max, studying this stuff seems to drain her of energy' Chloe thought to herself. She hadn't really seen Max this beaten down before. She didn't really talk too much about school stuff with Chloe, but Chloe had gotten the impression that Max didn't really have problems studying. Perhaps she was wrong.

"I think my latest creation is all done!" Chloe responded, as she turned around and walked over to the fridge. Out she pulled two small bowls of something white with berries on top. As Chloe approached Max with the neutral-tasting dessert, Max knew that this could probably only be one thing.

"Panna Cotta? Chloe, you made Panna Cotta?" Max replied, sounding very much alive again. She was now smiling from ear to ear. Her blood sugar had apparently been diminishing, so this would probably wake her up again.

"Yup!" Chloe replied, sounding very proud as she did. She had been moving her way up in the world of cooking, and whilst there was still a lot to learn and perfect, this was probably an all-time high for her.

"Well, this looks very delicious!" Max said, before grabbing a spoon and giving it a taste.

As soon as the spoon entered her mouth, Max was visibly stunned by the taste. 'Careful, Max, otherwise you'll roll your eyes all the way around'. Chloe could see that Max' shoulders that once stood high up against her neck had now sunken down in a comfortable position, as if her troubles had suddenly vanished.

"Wowser…" Max said under her breath, grabbing another spoonful. The second bite tasted just as good as the first one had, and Chloe was almost getting worried that this was sending Max into a state of ecstasy.

"I take it you enjoyed it?" Chloe asked, already knowing the answer.

"Good? Holy shit, this is amazeballs, Chlo!" she replied, giving Chloe a shiver down her back as she uttered the word "amazeballs". It was kinda Chloe's thing, and it was just a little unusual to hear it from Max. That could only mean she really meant it, right?

"Glad you like it. It was actually pretty easy to make."

"Chloe, I could die happy right now, okay? I have everything that matters the most to me in this very room, and the fact that you made this Panna Cotta... I don't really have words to describe how I feel right now", Max said, sounding sincere as she did. Well, since when was Max NOT sincere? Sure, sometimes she left things out, in order to avoid awkward moments, but she always told the truth.

For Max' part, on the other hand, it wasn't that simple. During "Hell-week" in Arcadia, she had really grown as a person. She was just unsure if she liked what she was developing into. She had broken into the principal's office, went ahead and taken a swim at the pool in the middle of the night, almost fired a gun at someone, lied about Nathan and the dark room, and… well, she really wasn't sure she was still the same person after the week as she was going into that week.

Of course, not everything had been for the worse. She had re-kindled with Chloe. She had saved a lot of people at almost every turn. She had helped a lot of her classmates at school.

"Well, don't die on me just yet" Chloe teased. "You still haven't tasted the results of me entering the baking phase."

"Bullshit. I know you used to bake in the mornings quite often" Max replied.

"Yeah, well… Different kind of baking, I guess" Chloe replied with a smirk.

Max returned to her studies with renewed energy. This time she was actually able to focus for a while, and got quite an amount of work done.

*Thud*

"There we go, I am done. Just… Done!" she said, sounding relieved that she'd covered the homework for the week. Walking over to the couch in the living room, she fell backwards into it, sinking down to the point where she would struggle to get up, if she ever planned on doing such a thing. Right now, though, that would a problem for future-Max.

Chloe had gotten tired of making food, and had rather sat down in a comfy chair in the living room and fiddled with her phone. She looked over the messages she had sent and receiver to and from mom the last few weeks. Pretty standard stuff, no special news from Arcadia, except that they had already started rebuilding a lot of the stuff that the tornado had snatched with it.

"Hey, Chloe. Anything new?" Max asked, eyes shut in the sofa, just relaxing and regaining strength.

"Well, they're apparently rebuilding the Bay area. They started about two or three weeks ago, and things are getting along quite nicely. Mom and step… David are talking again, after she found a half-written letter in the garage from him, as well as him apologizing to her in person. According to mom, it was actually pretty heart felt." Chloe hadn't been very fond of David before Hell-week, but after the incidents that Thursday night… She had learned to look at him with new eyes and a fresh mind.

"I'm glad we went to David, and not trying to solve the whole mystery together" Chloe said.

"Yeah… But the first time, we DID try to solve it alone. That didn't… turn out well… for any of us…" Max replied, dark feelings and thoughts started bubbling up inside her just thinking of those events. She hated Mark Jefferson with every fiber in her body. She needed to see that he would face justice at some point. Back in the Dark Room, when David had rescued her, she had originally told him that Chloe was killed by him. At which point David had shot Mark Jefferson out of sheer anger. Max couldn't really blame him one bit, as she would've done the same thing. But she had to be better than that. Stronger than that. So, she had gone back and told David that Chloe was fine. As much as it hurt her, Mark Jefferson had to face a trial for what he'd done.

Chloe could see that Max had gone into a state of deep-thinking, most likely remembering some pretty gruesome stuff.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring that shit up…" Chloe said in a faint voice, walking over to Max and hugging her, squeezing her tight.

"We're together now. That's the only thing that matters" she whispered into the brunette's ear, rocking her slowly back and forth. It was a comforting position, and Max had no plans of making her stop what she was doing. She felt safe with Chloe holding around her, playing with her hair a bit.

"I… uhh… I'm gonna step outside and… you know, grab a smoke… You okay?" Chloe said after a few minutes of holding Max.

The smaller girl nodded.

"Okay. I'll be right outside if you need anything" Chloe said, giving Max another tight squeeze before letting go of her. Chloe got up from the sofa, grabbed her phone and her brown army jacket, and went outside.

The weather could've been nicer. Heavy clouds threatened the city with rain, just waiting for an excuse to let it pour down. The sun was nowhere to be seen, and it was kinda dark outside.

"Great. Another beautiful day" Chloe said to herself, before grabbing a cig from the carton, and grabbing her lighter. After lighting the cig, she took a few deep drags from it, and exhaled the fumes.

'Shit. I'm trying to quit, Max. I promise I am. It's just… dang difficult. I don't have the kind of willpower you have, Max. I wish I did…

What am I becoming? I am not resenting step-douche anymore, I suddenly WANT to return to the shithole that is Arcadia, and I have started making food?! What is wrong with me? A month ago, I'd never even think of doing these things. And look at me now, I'm just about wife-material. Fuck, I've even fallen in love with Max. Just a week after being reunited with her after five FUCKING years. How is that even possible?

Who am I now? Who do I want to be? If I am becoming something different… Should I allow it?'

Chloe took another deep drag from her cigarette, held it in for a few moments, then exhaled everything.

"Fuck" she sighed in a faint voice.


	18. A Pensive Night

It was dark outside, and the wind had picked up, causing the house to shake a bit. Max had fallen asleep before things had gotten that bad, so she was deep within dream-land. Outside, the leaves flew sideways, and the darkness was only broken by street lights and other houses. The moon was nowhere to be seen, as it hid behind the thick layers of clouds.

Max's breathing was slow and steady, like a slow-moving clock. She was fast asleep.

But Chloe wasn't. She couldn't help but to lie in Max's bed and contemplate her life in light of the recent weeks. She was unable to sleep, as the only thing she could think about was if she liked where she was headed.

Of course, she loved Max. There was really no question about that fact, as her love for Max stretched deep and firm. But what about the rest?

She had to admit that she had started to like cooking and baking stuff. It was a sudden change for her, but she liked the fact that she could follow a recipe to create such good-tasting stuff. It was kinda like chemistry, and when she still went to school, she had loved chemistry and science in general. She liked that there was an order to things, and that it could be followed universally. Not like photography, for instance, where it seemed to be "everything is good in its own way", at least according to Chloe.

Max was different on that point. Things that were abstract and couldn't be quantified was generally her thing. Chloe knew that Max loved photography, and that she should follow her dream of becoming a famous photographer.

So why was it so hard to deal with the current situation, she thought to herself. Something felt out of place, yet everything seemed to be exactly where it should be at. She was in bed next to Max. Next to the love of her life. Next to the girl who had, to the best of her knowledge at the time, sacrificed an entire town full of people, just so she could be together with her. How could she ever hope to repay her?

Thoughts swirled around Chloe's head for a good while, whilst the girl just sat upright in the bed in total darkness, listening to the light tapping sound of raindrops on the window.

Max's breathing started going erratic, and she started twisting around, mumbling something inaudible. Chloe looked down at her and could only guess that this was another nightmare of hers. She had had a lot of nightmares lately, and some were pretty gruesome, according to what she had been told by Max.

Thinking it was the right thing to do, Chloe put her hand over Max, and held her tightly, humming as she did. Max stopped twitching right away, and seemed to calm down. Her breathing had returned to normal rhythm, and peace and quiet overtook the bedroom once again.

"Mmm… Chloe?" Max mumbled, opening her eyes slowly to scan for the bluenette.

"Right here, Max." Chloe answered in a low voice, as not to waken Ryan or Vanessa, as their bedroom was just across the hallway.

Max turned around in the bed, resting her head atop of Chloe's chest, listening to the taller girl's heartbeat. It had made her feel safe ever since they escaped Arcadia, and the sound of her heart beating had a calming effect on her.

"Hey, Maximus. Bad dream?" Chloe asked carefully, as to not force her to think about what'd just happened.

"Yeah… Not really pleasant. Unlike when I'm with you, which is very pleasant." Max replied, still resting her head atop Chloe's chest.

"You don't have to if you don't want to, but if you feel the need, you can talk to me about it. Not sure if it'll help, but I've heard that putting some weight off your chest is healthy for you," Chloe said.

Max started lifting her head up, before Chloe gently put a hand on it to guide it back down to her chest.

"Not that I meant that literally." Chloe remarked. "Well, probably in most cases. But not in this one. This weight is good for me."

Chloe started gently stroking Max's hair, petting her as if she was a cat that had found its way into the bed.

The rain continued to pour down outside, gently knocking on the window with every droplet that fell. Max couldn't help but hear it, and get a little nervous. It was going to take a while to get over the sudden fear of harsh weather, but who could really blame her? She still had nightmares about Arcadia, about her blackouts, and about her nightmare that day on their way to the lighthouse. How was she ever going to get over that?

And as if she could read her thoughts, Chloe put her other hand over Max, pulling her over and almost sitting her on top of her lap, holding around her with both hands. It took Max by surprise, and she gave out a small playful yell as she was basically lifted into Chloe's lap.

"I never want to let go" Chloe murmured, her voice muffled by the constant kisses on Max's scalp. Her hair smelled good, as always, and Chloe could've eaten it up had she been a bit hungrier.

"I never want you to let go" Max replied with a tear starting to form in the corner of her eye.

The alarm clock went off, and Chloe freed one of her hands to smack the retro-looking alarm clock. It had just been a silly thing picked up at a thrift store in Seattle, but it served its master well, so there was really no need to switch it out before it would get broken. The alarm clocked silenced itself, and remained standing upright. Somehow Chloe had managed not to send it flying.

"Mmmm…" a muffled sound came from Chloe's chest. Or rather, from what lied on top of Chloe's chest. Max had been lying there the entire night, sleeping like a kitten, with Chloe gently stroking her hair until she herself had fallen victim to Sandman.

The sun was shining through the silky drapes, causing the room to be filled with light. The weather had been a bit quirky lately, sporadically switching from a lukewarm summer day to a cold rainy fall. And the other day, Max could've sworn she'd seen some snow.

However, it was still too early in the morning to contemplate such phenomena, and pondering if they were all related to recent events. 'Not before breakfast, at least', Max thought. However, she didn't want to leave the warm embrace of Chloe. Not willingly, at least. Chloe was a warm and comfy pillow that Max had been introduced to during the night, and she did not want to leave her new favorite spot.

Spending some extra minutes in bed with each other snuggling and kissing each other, they both eventually had to get up. A nice kissing session had been rudely interrupted by Max's rumbling stomach, which had gotten both of the girls into a laughy mood, and killed off the romantic mood.

After they both had a quick shower, it was time to head downstairs and get some morning chow. The house was empty since Ryan and Vanessa were at work, so they had to make their own food. Fortunately, the Caulfields had a pretty well-stocked fridge, not to mention that Chloe had bought some supplies, seeing as how she had used quite a bit during her explorations in the fine cooking arts.

"So, what would you like for breakfast, Maxaroni?" Chloe asked, sounding a bit like Joyce.

"That amazing sandwich of yours would be perfect if we have the ingredients" Max replied eagerly, seeing as that sandwich was actually pretty damn tasty.

"You got it!" Chloe replied, turning towards the fridge to get the ingredients.

Max set the table while Chloe made breakfast, and when done, she sat down and browsed Facebook on her cellphone. There wasn't a lot of news, other than a weather forecast calling for a sunny day, a few posts about Arcadia, and some pictures posted by some of the students at Blackwell.

After chowing down the sandwiches, Max did the dishes, whilst Chloe sat down in the living room sofa and relaxed, checking her phone for any news or other interesting stuff.

As Chloe sent a text message to her mom, Max entered the room, throwing herself down at the sofa next to the bluenette.

"Hey. What'cha doing?" she asked playfully.

"Nothin', just texting mom." Chloe replied

"So, we have all day just to ourselves… Anything special you feel like doing today?"

"No, not really. I mean, we have been spending the last few weeks hanging out around the city, looking at cool stuff, you taking photos and showing me all the spots in Seattle…" Chloe replied, trying to hold herself back a bit. She was a punk, after all. Punks don't go around looking a lot at landmarks and city sights and stuff. Right?

"Well, it's still somewhat early in the morning, we have the house to ourselves, and there really isn't much to do today…" Max started, before leaning towards Chloe. As their lips touched, a smile formed on Chloe's lips, out of pure instinct at this point. Shivers of joy would jolt through her entire body whenever Max would touch or kiss Chloe, and this time was no exception.

After a moment, their shared kiss broke apart.

"Max Caulfield, are you suggesting something?" Chloe asked in a feigned voice.

"Perhaps" Max replied in an equally feigned voice

"Well, you don't have to ask twice" Chloe replied, before their lips met again, sending more shivers of joy into the taller girl's body.


	19. Leaving

Max woke up from her deep slumber, her head resting on Chloe's chest as usual. The sun was hiding behind clouds again, and those clouds threatened with rain.

Gently lifting her head up from Chloe's chest, hoping that she wouldn't wake her, she looked at the bluenette's beautiful face. She looked calm and content, unlike what she'd looked like back in Arcadia, where she was usually either angry at almost everyone or just bummed. Her blonde roots were nowhere to be seen, as she'd dyed her hair a mere two days ago. Max loved Chloe's hairstyle, as it too was a testament towards her punk lifestyle which was a central part of the girl Max had fallen in love with.

Studying the blue-haired girl for a few moments, she let out a content sigh and tried to gently put her head down at Chloe's chest again, trying not to wake her up in the process.

Sadly, though, this was not successful, as Chloe's hand began to gently stroke the brunette's hair.

"Did I wake you up?" Max asked gently.

"Kinda, but it's fine," Chloe replied smilingly. "This is a pretty dang good way to wake up, having you resting on top of me."

Max smiled as she closed her eyes, not wanting this moment to pass. But it had to, otherwise it wouldn't be a moment.

"Kinda, but it's fine," Chloe replied smilingly. "This is a pretty dang good way to wake up, having you resting on top of me."

"Mmmmm" Max let out a low hum, before putting her arm across Chloe's chest and onto her shoulder. There they laid for a while, enjoying each other's company.

However, they had to get up eventually. The day was not getting any younger, and today was the day they would start their journey towards Arcadia again. It was a strange feeling, having to return to the place that had given them each other, but tried to take away so much from them. And it had almost taken everything. Both girls were unsure of how they'd react coming back. For the most part, Max was excited, however she had reservations about Blackwell. If Mark Jefferson was a drugging photo-rapist with a lot of resources, who were to say nobody else could be doing the same thing?

Chloe, on the other hand, actually missed Arcadia a little. Sure, she hated the place after her father died, and it was the place of origin for a lot of her grief, but it was also the place where she and Max had created all their memories together. It was the place where they'd first kissed. The place where they'd played together as pirates. The place they had rekindled their affection towards each other, with and without the love-element. How could she hate the place? How could she not hate the place? Internal conflicts like these had, during the past few weeks, started to appear in Chloe's mind, and she wasn't sure if she welcomed it or not.

After sharing a quick shower together, they got dressed in their usual getup, and headed downstairs to eat some breakfast. Ryan and Vanessa had taken the day off to see the girl out, making sure they wouldn't forget anything. Of course, if they did, it'd be an excellent excuse to either get them back to Seattle, or visiting them in Arcadia.

A solid breakfast later, which included bacon, baguettes, eggs and mini sausages, Max was unsure if she could even manage to get into the truck with Chloe later on. She hadn't eaten this well since… Well, she was unsure. Ryan's cooking wasn't at the same level as Joyce, but if the two of them had cooperated and started a diner together… 'Wowser' Max thought.

Chloe hadn't unpacked a whole lot of stuff that she had bought along the way towards Seattle, but she had bought a few outfits during their little vacation in the big city. Fortunately, Max had convinced her to buy a duffle bag as well, so that she could actually bring all her stuff when they would eventually return. Not that she wasn't welcome to leave a few things behind, of course. But they hadn't planned out what they would do after they'd get back. Would they return for Christmas? Easter? After she'd graduated? However, these were things for future-Max and future-Chloe to worry about.

Getting everything packed and ready, Max stood in her bedroom, pondering about the past. She had been here before, when she'd packed her stuff and headed to Blackwell. Back then she had been so excited and eager to get going. And now she wasn't sure of weither she was excited or saddened. A bit of both, she supposed.

"Do you… Umm… Need a minute? 'Cuz I can wait downstairs if you want to-"

"No, Chlo. It's fine, I'm just… Thinking about how I've been here before, when I first left Seattle to go to Blackwell. I was so excited then, and now I'm both terrified and overjoyed. Why?"

"Shit, I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that it's the place where we created some awesome memories for ourselves, as well as being the place of some horrible ones." Chloe replied, sounding like she had been thinking about the same things as Max did.

"And we can't let that shit define us, I guess. To overcome hard times and stuff, not letting that place win." She continued.

Without saying anything, Max turned around and wrapped her arms around the taller girl, burying her face in Chloe's shoulder. She wrapped her arms around Max as well, and squeezed her tightly, causing Max to give out a sniff.

There they stood for a good few moments, where it felt like the entire world stood still, and that only this moment mattered. Max lifted her head out of Chloe's shoulder, and leveled it with the bluenette's head. There too, time stood still, as they gazed deeply into each other's eyes for a few seconds, before their lips joined together in a passionate kiss. Like if they knew they were leaving a part of them behind here, and that they were going back to places of both good and bad memories.

After a good amount of kissing and hugging, they bid their farewells to the bedroom they had shared for half a month, before heading downstairs again with their bags. Ryan and Vanessa were waiting in the living room, not especially eager for Max and Chloe to return to Arcadia. They had been watching the news, so they knew about most of the shit that'd happened at Blackwell regarding Jefferson and Prescott, however Max had not mentioned that she was drugged, almost raped, travelled through time to stop shit from happening, saving Chloe who had been killed, and choosing to kill the entire Bay so that Chloe would live. No, that was not a conversation she wanted to have with her parents.

"Hey kids. You ready to leave now?" Ryan asked with a faked optimism in his voice. Deep down he was happy for Max and Chloe, and he wanted them to return to Arcadia, but he was, like most other parents would be, concerned due to recent events.

"Yeah, dad. We're ready."

"Here, let me take the bags. It's the least I can do" he said, grabbing Max and Chloe's bags to carry them out to Chloe's truck. Vanessa gave Max a tight hug, as if she wasn't going to see her again in a very long time. This wasn't true, Max knew, as they would likely visit before her graduation.

"You be a good girl, okay? Take care of yourself and Chloe, call often, and stay safe!" Vanessa instructed.

"Yeah, mom. It's gonna be fine, I promise!" Max said reassuringly, hugging Vanessa back.

Then it was Chloe's turn.

"And you. You take care of yourself and Max, okay?" she asked. Perhaps it came out a bit stricter than intended, but it was all meant well.

"Hella yeah! I'll take care of her. Although so far, she's mostly been taking care of me" Chloe replied.

"Well, as long as you two stay safe and take care of each other. I guess that's the best I can ask for."

Shoeing up and grabbing their jackets, they headed outside to the truck, where Ryan stood ready to bid them farewell. As Max approached him, he grabbed her and lifted her up ever so slightly, before putting her down again.

"You be good, you hear? Take care of Chloe, take care of yourself, and take care of each other. I don't want to lose either of you" he said in a low voice, almost whispering to her.

"We will, dad." Max replied under her breath. It was obvious to him that she had reservations about leaving, but both she and him knew that it was the right thing to do. After all, she wanted to become a photographer, and Blackwell was still at this point the best school for her to pursue her dream.

After securing their bags properly in the truck so they wouldn't fly off during the trip, Max and Chloe waved their parents good-bye, as they slowly backed up out of the driveway, and onto the road.

"Sooo… Same route as last time?" Chloe asked hopefully, as she'd enjoyed the trip towards Seattle greatly.

"Same route as before" Max replied with a grin.


	20. Detour

'It's actually kinda good to be out on the road again. Nothing but me, Chloe and the truck.' Max thought to herself as Chloe pulled onto the highway. Like on their way towards Seattle, Max was the designated navigator, while Chloe was the driver.

Max really should strive to get a driver's license. After all, she was clearly old enough, and it could be useful to her to be able to drive. Although, considering her studies and classes, maybe it'd be a better idea to wait until after she'd graduated, so that she could focus on one thing at the time.

"How're you holding up, Maxaroni?"

"Pretty good," Max replied. "I'm excited for the trip back. I hope it's gonna be as awesome as our trip up here!"

"Hella yeah! It's gonna be awesome sauce!" Chloe exclaimed, sounding cheerful as she did. It was great to see her happy, although recently she'd been happy almost all the time. Being in Seattle did her well, it seemed. Or perhaps it was being with Max that did her well? Certainly, Max did her well. That was the impression she got from Chloe, at least.

The road was kinda quiet. It wasn't a lot of cars, mostly because it was a Thursday, and everyone was at work. The low-pitched hum from Chloe's truck had a soothing effect on Max, as she closed her eyes and leaned on the door to rest her head. She was still a bit tired, seeing as how they'd not spent the entire night sleeping…

After a few minutes, though, Max returned from her slumber, checking her phone for a map of the area. It was time to take a little de-tour, in order to fill in some time.

"Chloe, pull over so we can plan things out a bit" Max said eagerly, her eyes full of love, hope and joy. She was clearly excited for the trip.

"You got it!" Chloe answered, as she pulled over to a nearby bus stop.

Max handed Chloe the phone.

"Okay, check it out. If we take a detour along the 18, then pull off and take the 169 through Maple Valley and Krain, then we can use the 410 to get back on track. The area should have a lot of nice parks and nature trails we can hang out at." Max said, sounding as if she'd been planning this for ages. She hadn't, of course, but maybe she'd been wanting to go there for some time.

"Okay. Sounds cool. We can probably do a pit stop at Enumclaw as well. You know, get some chow and fill our bellies to the rim." Chloe suggested.

"I'll never say no to food," Max remarked with a smirk. "Except for when I'm already full".

Parking the truck at a nearby parking lot, Max and Chloe picked a path to follow at random, and started heading out. Truth be told, it wasn't as glamorous as Google Maps had said it'd be, as there were more houses and buildings at Lake Wilderness Park than initially expected, but there were fortunately a few tails that hadn't seen civilization in some time.

The gravel crunched under their feet as they walked slowly along the nature trail, holding each other hands, their fingers intertwined. The sun hadn't returned from beyond the clouds, but the threat of rain had passed, it seemed. They could faintly hear kids yelling and cars driving by in the distance, but nothing mattered, as Max and Chloe's thoughts for each other drowned out those sounds.

Max stopped for a second, pulling out her camera and snapped a picture of the bluenette striking a pose, making a peace sign in front of her face. The polaroid slowly creeped out of the camera, and Max waved it in the air for a few seconds, letting it develop properly. Studying the photo, Chloe thought it looked a bit silly, but at least it was more true to what she was at the core than some of the recent pictures taken of her, looking domesticated and at peace. It was going to take a long time to get used to a life without having to fear abandonment by Max. To not hate Arcadia with a passion anymore. Hell, it'd probably take months, or even years! However, she promised herself to let herself ease up a bit.

Considering the photo a success, Max put her camera away in her satchel, turned towards Chloe, and gave her a gentle kiss. Chloe's otherwise slightly tense body softened up by the brunette's lips, causing her to almost stumble and fall onto the ground, but she managed to catch herself in time.

"Something wrong?" Max asked with a concerned look on her face. She couldn't help but think if something was happening to Chloe that she couldn't rewind in order to stop. That would be the worst possible scenario, as Chloe was her everything at this point. She literally couldn't live without Chloe in her life.

"No, I'm fine," Chloe said sheepishly, looking up at Max. "You literally make my knees weak, Max. You're my kryptonite!"

"Well, that's a handy power to have, seeing as I'm about to kidnap you and make you live in the forest with me for all eternity." Max teased with an overly faked voice. But Chloe thought it sounded sweet, nonetheless.

"Oh noes! If only I could resist your power!" Chloe replied, playing along to Max's shenanigans.

"Well, I am actually quite weak to your kisses too. Oh no! I just told you my biggest weakness. Curses!"

"Hah! Take this!" Chloe said, before leaning in and giving the brunette a lovely kiss on her lips, causing an involuntary, but not unwanted, smile on her face.

"And that." She said, giving the shorter girl another kiss on the lips, this time causing small shivers of joy in both girls, as well as a wide smile on their faces as they broke the kiss.

"I can do this all day!" Chloe joked with a very relaxed look on her face. This was obviously a setting she was okay with.

"I certainly hope so. I haven't got my daily intake of kisses from you." Max teased.

"Oh, man! There's nothing but chores with you!" Chloe teased right back.

"That's how I am. High maintenance."

"Well, if I have lots of work ahead of me, I guess I better get started then"

Concluding their little trip down the trail, it was time to head back to the truck. They did briefly stop by the lake itself, but considering the cold temperature, the lack of sun, and the presence of kids playing, they decided it'd be just fine to skip the whole "Let's lay down and relax at some cold lake in this cold weather" thing. It was not that appealing.

Getting back to their truck, Chloe started the engine, and after a few minutes, they were back on the road, continuing towards Enumclaw.

"Hey, Chloe. We shouldn't rather just stop at Black Diamond and have our pit stop there, should we? We could do a detour of our detour, checking out the Flaming Geyser Park and stuff, and we could get some food as well. I don't know about you, but I'm already starting to feel hungry again."

As if it had heard Max, Chloe's stomach rumbled a bit, throwing both girls into a slight laughter.

"Sounds like I have already cast my vote" Chloe giggled, keeping her focus on the road. Last time they had almost drifted off the road was close enough for Chloe.

As they started to reach buildings and civilization again, both girls started scouting out a good place to eat. They drove around for a few minutes, darting in and out of side streets, before settling on Black Diamond Bakery and Restaurant. Chloe and Max parked the car a few blocks away, and walked over to the restaurant. It was a nice interior with an old retro-look. Max liked it, naturally. She had a thing for old things and styles, and this place seemed to fit the quirky girl well.

Sitting down at a booth, the girl found two menus, and had a quick look-through, before settling on two large sandwiches for each of them. Fetching a mug of water at a trolley in the restaurant, Max looked at some of the pictures and artwork hanging on the walls and ceiling. There were some old vinyl plates hanging above the bar counter, as well as some T-shirts. The rest of the restaurant had a few posters and pictures of a few bands that Max had never heard of before. The more she looked, the more it became apparent that this place was similar to a Hard Rock Café, but a bit more subtle and definitely less famous. Not that it was a bad thing, of course. Just meant that it was more hipster, so it would fit Max even better.

After checking out the place some more, she returned to the booth where Chloe was sitting, texting with her mom, probably.

"Hey. Have you checked out this place? It looks pretty cool." Max tried to sound a bit laid back, but she couldn't conceal every part of her fascinated hipster.

"Yeah, I've looked around. Looks neat enough." Chloe replied.

Max poured both herself and Chloe a glass of water, and took a sip of her own. The water was ice-cold, which was refreshing considering the temperature of the restaurant.

"So, what'cha doing?" Max asked the blue haired goddess sitting opposite of her.

"Texting mom. She's been all over my ass since I forgot to text her for a few days. I've been missing before, but apparently the whole tornado-thing has got her really wound up, even after all these weeks."

"Ouch. But she only does it because she loves you. And this time she came close to losing you. In more ways than she even knows…"

"Guess you're right… Hell, even David has been texting me now and then, wondering if I'm safe. God, after what you told me about he saving you… And you telling him I was dead… He killed Jeffershit because he was so angry. Because he cared so much. And… He probably cares just as much about me in this reality… Guess I'll try to bury the hatchet with him when we get back to Arcadia… Eventually…"


	21. Message in a bottle

After eating four sandwiches in total, a few meaningful conversations and hella lot of meaningless conversations, Max and Chloe were ready to head out on the road again. They still had about half the day to spend, so they could still drive somewhat aimlessly around for some time before they had to start looking for a motel or something.

Next stop on their list: The Flaming Geyser Park.

It was actually a pretty big place, some 503 acres. Chloe pulled into the parking lot and stopped the car. There weren't many people around, but as usual, there were some. As they stepped out of the truck, they could hear model airplanes flying around nearby. Max couldn't help but think back at Stella and her drone, back at Blackwell. Although Max didn't have a whole lot of knowledge about drones, she'd gotten pretty good at flying one, considering she'd been playing with Stella's drone more times than she'd perceived. 'Rewinding is a handy ability to have. I can save my friends and loved ones, and I still get time to play around with stuff', Max thought to herself as both girls walked up to the park entrance.

Blocking the entrance was a booth with fences going in both directions. This was obviously a pay-to-enter park. Max considered just calling it a fail, and return to the truck to head off to a different location, but Chloe was optimistic, so they headed up to the gate to see how much it cost, at the very least. They were met by a pleasant surprise, as entry only cost five bucks each, which was a very affordable price. Max swiped her card, paying for both, and they each were given a rubber bracelet to be worn at all times inside the park. Putting the bracelets on, the bluenette held her arm up horizontally.

"Care to be escorted, m'Lady?" Chloe in a feigned voice.

"Oooh, my! Yes, indeed" Max replied sounding equally feigned, taking Chloe's arm and walking beside her, slightly leaning her head at the bluenette's shoulder.

Max really enjoyed the moments where they would play like this. It created some funny moments between them, which would often lead to flirting, kissing, touching, and other intimate situations. In public, however, they'd have to tone it down a bit. A peck or a quick kiss was okay for Max and Chloe, but anything more than that in public would usually end up making both feel somewhat embarrassed. Public affections would only go so far between them. Although being secure about each other, and not really caring that much about people knowing about them, they didn't feel the need to shout it to people's faces, exactly.

Walking around the entrance area of the park, Max and Chloe ended up at a sign, explaining how the Flaming Geyser Park got its name. Apparently, there used to be several pockets of methane gas underneath the park, which had caught fire at some point in time, causing a shooting flame. The methane gas had run out a while ago, sadly, so it wasn't burning anymore.

"Dang. That'd been a great shot!" Max looked sort of disappointed, but she was still content with getting to at least see where a flaming geyser had existed at some point in time.

She ultimately snapped a photo of the "once-flaming-geyser" with Chloe standing in front of it, leaning a bit on the sign.

"You keep taking photos of me, and sometimes us both. But I've never really explicitly taken a photo of you" Chloe remarked after Max had snapped the photo. This was true, Max couldn't really recall Chloe ever taking a single photo of her. At least not since they were tweens, and even then those photos had been few and far between.

But there was a reason for this. Max didn't really like to get her picture taken by others. She loved the photograph of her and her father at the Space Needle, but other than that, she preferred to take her own photos. To call Max a perfectionist was exaggerated, but ultimately it did come down to the fact that she knew how she liked to be portrayed, and someone… not her... didn't do that job right in her mind.

'But perhaps that should change?' she thought, gazing at the blue-haired girl looking back at Max with kind eyes. She didn't like anyone taking her picture, but she had learned to share everything with Chloe. Her deepest feelings, her darkest fears, and her intimate self. So she could manage to share this with Chloe as well, right?

"That's true… I usually prefer taking either selfies or pictures of others. It's what I'm used to. But… I feel comfortable with you taking my picture, I think" Max stuttered. This was obviously something precious to her.

Max handed the camera over to Chloe, who was actually really touched by it. Max trusted her enough to take her picture. Seeing how much it meant to the brunette, she decided to take it very seriously and not mess around. Positioning the younger girl correctly, she used a few moments to decide the best angle for the picture.

"Shit, you make it look so easy, Maximus. But dang it, this is difficult!" Chloe complained, putting on a smile as she did.

"It gets easier when you've been doing it for a while" Max giggled.

"Okay, I think I've got it. Stand still…"

The mechanical shutter snapped, and the photo was taken. A little polaroid appeared in front of the camera, and Chloe took a hold of it. She was about to hand it to Max for review but suddenly remembered that Max always flapped the photo around in the air for a few seconds, probably to let it develop or something. It might've just been a ritual as well, but Chloe decided it'd be a smart move to just replicate what Max always did. If she ended up looking stupid or something, she'd rather take that. Also, she knew that Max never thought she looked stupid. Or at least would never call her out on it.

Taking the polaroid between her thumb and her index finger, she flapped it in the air for a few seconds, looking slightly confused as she did. She then looked at it and started grinning.

Seeing this, Max walked over to have a look. Chloe handed her the photograph, and let watched the brunette carefully to try and read her thoughts. Max took the photograph, let out an audible sigh, and looked at it, preparing for the worst. But she was surprised. Her eyebrows rose up, and she looked impressed with the photo. She then started smiling widely.

"Wowser! Chloe, this is actually really good!" Max exclaimed, looking at the bluenette, who had a shy little smile on her face.

"Hey, it's just a photo" Chloe shrugged, giving Max a smile.

"It's not just a photo, Chloe. It's an awesome photo, taken by a breathtaking girl who I love with all my heart. It will always mean a lot to me" Max said, looking at Chloe with happy, but somewhat saddened eyes at the same time.

"Hey, you okay, Maxaroni?" Chloe asked with concern in her voice.

"Yes, sweetheart. I am okay. WE are okay." Max replied, her eyes looking the same, but somehow older or more tired.

"Max…?" Chloe asked, this time with more concern and confusion in her voice. She had never called her sweetheart before. But Chloe kinda liked it.

"Yes?" she replied smilingly.

"Are you… my Max?" Chloe asked carefully.

"I will always be your Max. But I am future-Max. Your future-Max." She said, looking warmly at Chloe.

"Holy shit!" Chloe exclaimed, trying her best to hold back the tears. "I wanna ask you so many things…"

"I can't answer a whole lot, unfortunately. Ripple effects and stuff. But I can tell you this: This photograph is important to me. It was the first you ever took of me since we got together. We still have it framed, sitting on the nightstand."

Chloe covered her mouth with her hands, fighting a losing fight to hold back the tears of joy.

"I love you, sweetheart. I always have, and I always will"

"Wait. Before you… return… How long? Us, for how long?" Chloe pushed the words out, shedding several tears as she did.

"Forever" Max replied, smiling warmly at Chloe. Her smile carried feelings, unlike anything Chloe had seen before. It was not just a content smile or just a loving smile. This was something more, something stronger. Unable to hold herself back anymore, the bluenette rushed over to Max and hugged her, squeezing her tight while burying her face in the shorter girl's shoulder.

"Hey, you okay, Chloe?" Max asked, confused as to why the taller girl who seemed perfectly happy just a few seconds ago was now crying her eyes out, face buried in her shoulder. She nonetheless wrapped her hands around the taller girl as much as possible, holding her tight.

"Hey…" Chloe sobbed, lifting her head up to give Max a kiss. Their lips met, and Chloe could feel a major release of endorphins. 'Better than any weed I've ever smoked' she thought to herself. They held the kiss for what seemed like forever, but when it broke apart, it seemed like it'd been too short. Max kept on holding the crying Chloe in her arms for a while longer until she calmed down a bit.

"What happened? Did I jump in time or something?" Max asked, stroking Chloe's soft, blue hair.

"Sorta, yeah"

"Was it something bad?"

"On the contrary, it was good news. Hell, it sounded like a promise. A promise I intend to keep my end of" Chloe replied, wiping tears from her eyes. She spoke in somewhat cryptic messages, although Max thought she understood the general underline of the message.

Finally releasing the taller girl, they gazed into one another's eyes in a way they'd never before for a solid minute, before kissing each other again. Still feeling overjoyed, Chloe took Max' hand in hers, and they started walking down one of the many nature trails in the park.


	22. Change of Plans

A/N: Going to try and do some more fluff onwards for a few chapters now, and not just "they did this and that..."

'Sweetheart. Sweetheart. sweetheartsweetheartsweetheart'

The words echoed in her head. The petite brunette had called her sweetheart. And it was the sweetest sound in the world. Hearing Max call her that for the first time had been… Cute but unsettling, seeing as she had no idea what was going on with Max at the time. But when she realized that she was from the future… And that they would last forever… THAT was something she definitely could live with.

"-loe? Are you okay?"

She snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the cute girl walking next to her. 'Gosh, she's so beautiful. I'm lucky to have her. She actually cares about me. She literally threw a bay full of people in front of a bus to save me. That bus did manage to step on the brakes in time, but still. She did it all for me.

Hang on! She's trying to communicate. Snap out of it, Chloe!'

"Huh? Sorry, Max. My thoughts were… Someplace else…"

"Can hardly blame you, really. What was it I said, again?"

"You told me that the picture I took was important. That you- that we still have it on our nightstand." "OUR nightstand" Chloe repeated eagerly.

"You told me that we would last forever… And that's when I wouldn't stand it anymore and ran over to hug you."

"Wowser… It's a lot to take in, and I can't imagine how it was for you. But I'm hardly surprised by it, to be honest. I've planned to stick around until my last breath. And it sounds like I'm gonna be doing pretty good progress." Max said sweetly. Her relaxed look was full of self-confidence that Chloe hadn't seen in Arcadia Bay for many years. Max wasn't insecure about herself; She knew who she was, and didn't try and hide it from the world. But she wasn't always self-confident, at least not before "Hell week". But now she glowed. She could do anything.

Continuing along the path, Max and Chloe suddenly found themselves back at the beginning of the trail. They had been walking around, chatting and focusing on each other so much that they hadn't really seen anything during the hike, other than each other.

"Wait, how long was the trail supposed to be?" Chloe asked confused.

"It should've been about an hour to walk the entire length of it" Max replied, equally confused.

"But didn't we just start to walk?" Chloe asked perplexed

"Yeah… Guess we were so focused on each other that we blew away an hour in like 5 minutes" Max replied.

"Well, that means we should probably think about getting going to the next location and start looking for a motel, while we still have some daylight" Chloe suggested. It was not exactly getting late, per se, but the days were getting shorter, and they both agreed that looking for a place to sleep after it'd gotten dark, was not really something they wanted.

Visiting a little gift-shop on their way out, Max picked up a small keychain with a model geyser spewing flames out, while Chloe bought herself a little keychain-plaque with the name of the park. Feeling satisfied with the little detour of the detour, they headed over to Chloe's truck, hopped in, and pulled out of the parking lot. It was time to get going again!

Following the SE Green Valley Road, they connected to the 18, and followed it into Auburn. Max fished her phone out of her pocket, and checked Google Maps for a good place. Although considering Auburn Motel, she quickly rejected the idea based on the reviews people had left it. Apparently, it was expensive compared to the quality of the place. However, some nice people had left a suggestion to rather stay at La Quinta Inn, which Max was now browsing to check out.

"Woah! Check it out, Chloe. La Quinta Inn. Free Breakfast, indoors swimming pool, 3 stars, relatively cheap. What do you think?"

"I was sold at Free Breakfast! I'm game!"

"Alright, La Quinta it is, then! Take a right here."

Pulling into the parking lot, Max had noted herself a few downsides to this place. For one, it was situated right next to the highway through town, so cars would probably keep them up for a substantial amount of the night. Of course, this could be turned into a positive thing…

Two, it seemed to be quite popular. At least at first sight. Max noticed a lot of cars in the parking lot, and she hoped that it wouldn't turn out to be a place full of small kids running around. Max wasn't really that much of a kids-person, and neither was Chloe, she figured. However, upon realizing that it'd only be for one night, she shrugged the whole problem off, and didn't really want to spend time thinking about it.

Walking into the reception, the first thing they noticed was how nice everything looked. There were marble floor connecting to somewhat brightly colored walls with a few art paintings hanging. Max also noticed a few sofas and other furniture in what seemed to be a quiet room, so maybe they could hang there and relax for a bit later in the evening. Max and Chloe walked over to the dark wood reception desk to rent a room. Pinging the desk bell, a receptionist approached them from a room behind the desk.

"Good afternoon, madams. What can I do for you?" the receptionist asked politely.

"Hi. We'd like to rent a room for the night." Max said

"Certainly! Just one night?"

"Yeah, we'll be going tomorrow around noon"

"Very well. Any special requests for the room?"

"A queen-sized bed would be preferred. Other than that, we don't really have any special wishes".

"Let's see… Here. Room 316. Queen-sized bed, beautiful view and a large room. Here's the keycards. Now I'll just need your names and a signature, please."

"Maxine Caulfield and Chloe Price" Max said reluctantly. She wanted to just use Max, but felt it'd be inappropriate to use a nickname for these kinds of situations. Picking up a pen, she quickly signed her name on the piece of paper presented by the receptionist, and picked up the keycards.

"Thanks" she said smilingly, as she picked up her bag, and walked over to the elevators with Chloe in tow behind her.

Max opened the door to their room, and stepped inside. The queen-sized bed was in place, and was actually very nice looking. The room fit in well with the whole brightly colored scheme like the rest of the hotel interior.

"Look, Chloe. We even got a little fluffy carpet" Max pointed out. Chloe seemed to love everything soft and fluffy, and this carpet was no exception. She didn't exactly drop down and started hugging it, but it was clear that she appreciated it. Of course, the carpet compared little to the very fluffy pillow in one of the big chairs in the room. The room itself was actually rather large, and considering the price per night, this was definitely a good place to stay.

"Max, the bathroom is also pretty dang huge." Chloe yelled from the bathroom. Max walked over so have a look for herself.

"Look, we even got a bubble bath and a large shower. I'm liking this place more and more!" Chloe continued. "Maybe we should expand our stay here a little? We do have a whole week to get back to Arcadia, anyway. So, we might as well spend a little bit extra time in nice places like this!"

"Yeah, I agree. This place is really nice, and considering the price, we could rather spend an extra day or two here, instead of some run-down motel by the road."

Walking over to the phone, Max picked it up and called down to the reception.

"This is the reception; how may I help you?" a voice said

"Hi, this is Max Cau- Maxine Caulfield from room 316. We just got in."

"Ah, yes. How's the room so far? Any complaints?"

"No, no, nonono. It's great! We were actually wondering if it'd be a problem if we extended our stay for another day?"

"None at all. Let me just update everything on the system… And done! Would there be anything else, miss Caulfield?"

"No, that's fine. Thank you very much" Max said, before hanging up. She turned towards Chloe, who had found the comfy-ness of the bed quite satisfactory.

"Looks like we're here for a full day more, I guess." She said, before throwing herself onto the bed next to the blue-haired goddess.

"So, that means we have a little more time to spend here. Guess we better make good use of it while we still can…" Chloe said as she gently stroke the underside of one of the hands Max rested her head on.

"Did you have anything special in mind, miss Price?" Max teased

"Well, we have a bubble bath in our bathroom. It would be a shame if we didn't put it to good use!" Chloe suggested teasingly.

"That, sweetheart, sounds like an excellent idea!" Max said, causing Chloe's heart to skip a beat upon being called "Sweetheart". She had told Max about it, but wasn't sure if she'd really pick up on it, or if it was something she would start calling her after a long time.

'Maybe the reason why she starts calling me sweetheart is because she said it to me when she went back in time, causing me to tell it to her, causing her to call me sweetheart when she goes back. Fuck, did we create a time loop just now?' Chloe thought as she lead Max to the bathroom.


	23. Dinner for Two

Although fooling around was all fun and games, doing so in a bathtub/bubble bathtub was not really practical. It all ended up with laughter and cramps, so they settled with just cuddling in the bathtub, with Max resting her back on Chloe's chest. The whole idea was brilliant, and definitely something they needed after a long and emotional day, especially for Chloe's part.

Although such moments could not last forever, as Chloe eventually needed to stretch her legs properly. Checking the clock, they noticed that they'd been lying there for the better part of 30 minutes, but it had felt more like 10 minutes. Time really had a funny way of passing when they were together. Although, considering Max, time had a funny way of passing altogether, Chloe thought.

"So, I saw that there's a restaurant downstairs. Should we check it out, or find somewhere else in this town to eat?" Max asked with a glint in her eyes.

"How's our budget? I mean, I'd love to spend everything I have on us, but we should probably plan out so we have enough to live pretty well for the rest of the trip, right?" Chloe suggested, causing Max to inaudibly gasp and cover her mouth with one hand.

"Dear God, you're thinking responsibly? Planning ahead?" Max teased with a huge grin on her face.

"Shuddup. I can be responsible…" Chloe murmured, trying her best to put up an offended look. However, she was unable to hold that pose, and soon cracked a smile on her face.

"I wanna treat you for something nice to eat. We did go out with mom and dad that wonderful evening, but other than that, we've usually been eating dinner and stuff at home. Let's do something a bit fancier" Max suggested. She had really enjoyed that night out when she gave her loved one that necklace. It was something kind of special that reminisced of their past, when they were playing pirates and burying treasures all over Arcadia. She didn't need anything back, of course. It was a gift to Chloe, no strings attached except love for the bluenette. All she wanted in return was for Chloe to love her back. Which she seemed to be doing most of the time. There seemed to be moments of confusion and doubt in Chloe's mind, and Max could see that she was fighting some internal conflict. But Max always thought that some internal conflicts could only be resolved internally. She showed Chloe as much love as she could, as often as she could, and it was pretty clear on her side that she loved Chloe with all her heart, and wanted to spend the rest of her life with her.

Upon hearing from future-Max, Chloe's doubts had been subdued for a while. She had heard that Max loved her and that she loved Max back, even after many years. But there was still that small part of her, deep inside, that wasn't sure about what was happening. There was too much change too fast. 'Hopefully, that voice will die out once we get back to Arcadia' Chloe had thought many times. She only hoped it'd be true…

"Okay, you wanna treat ol' boring me for a nice meal? You got it! I'm not gonna complain about that!" Chloe decided, giving in to herself. She really wanted to eat at a fancy place, and the downstairs restaurant seemed just right. She just hoped there would be enough cash left to enjoy the entire trip back to Arcadia properly.

"But please check if we have enough money to enjoy the rest of the trip back to the bay, bae. I really don't wanna sleep in the car. Even though it'd be cramped… And a shortage of space… Having to lie close to each other for warmth and comfort… Wait, it doesn't seem that bad, actually!" Chloe joked.

"Haha, don't worry, sweetheart," Max said, melting Chloe's heart as her new nickname was spoken. "I know we can afford it without problem. And I want to reward you for that lovely bubble bath idea." Max teased.

'Bae. Now there's something I've never been called before. But to be honest, I kinda like it. Bae. A bit assertive, but that fits the old new Chloe pretty well. And I like it!' Max thought.

Throwing off their old clothes, Max and Chloe started to change into a bit more formal wear for dinner. Max had packed with her a lovely red dress with black details. It was a thing she and Chloe had bought in Seattle on one of their days out. Of course, that meant that Chloe also had bought something new. Unpacking it from her bag, she put on a white-ish shirt, a black tie, a bright-gray vest, and dark-gray pants. She almost looked like a traditional waiter, but Max liked the style. Chloe wasn't exactly all "dresses and skirts", so this fit her style better. A small pit-stop in the bathroom to give their makeup a little touch-up was needed before going downstairs, of course. They had, after all, been running around all day, and tears had been shed here and there.

As both the girls now looked fabulous, they checked that they had gotten everything, before grabbing their purses and heading down to the restaurant.

Coming down the elevator, Chloe wrapped her arms around Max and held her tight for a second, before moving her head closer to give the brunette a quick kiss on the lips, before pulling away again. "What was that for?" Max asked while smiling

"For convincing me dinner here would be a good idea, of course." Chloe grinned.

"Mmmm… Didn't take a lot of convincing, though" Max replied

"True, but still. A for effort" Chloe joked. As she and Max laughed a bit, the elevator doors slid open, and the girls walked over to the restaurant.

The restaurant was not overly crowded, so Max and Chloe weren't exactly the only ones there. Although there was a substantial amount of people, they really weren't all that loud, and the restaurant had very little echo, so Max and Chloe were confident that they could actually have good conversations without a lot of background noise.

The girls sat down at a nice table covered with a large white tablecloth. Sitting opposite of each other, the girls were really enjoying themselves, even before ordering food. Last time they were out, it'd been with mom and dad. But now they were out at a fancy place, all by themselves. It was a huge step towards becoming independent of anyone else and becoming closer than ever. 'This evening is going to be great! Dinner with the girl I love, in a fancy place like this...' Max thought, sitting opposite of Chloe and just staring into those deep, blue eyes. She could stay like this forever, she thought.

However, as usual, these beautiful moments couldn't stay forever, and eventually had to pass. A waiter had left two menus on the table before leaving the girls alone, without Max or Chloe noticing. Picking up a menu each, they searched for a good meal.

"Damn, there's so much good stuff on this menu, I can't really decide!" Max exclaimed eventually, feigning a slight frustration.

"I think I'm gonna go for the chicken salad. It sounds tasty enough, and there's chicken, bacon, and a secret local dressing. What's not to love about it?" Chloe said, sounding convinced by her own argument.

"Dang, that does sound tasty. Although I'm thinking more along the lines of the grilled duck breast with honeyed glaze. That stuff sounds amazing, and I haven't really eaten a lot of duck. I've tasted it a few times before, but I don't remember the taste."

"Sounds like we're ready to order, then" Chloe declared as she closed the menu and leaned back in the chair a bit

Waiting a few minutes after closing both menus, the waiter that had seated them at the table came over and took their orders. Both Max and Chloe ended up deciding white wine would be good for dinner. Max ordered a dry wine to with the sweet duck, and Chloe ordered a sweeter wine for the salad.

"You look gorgeous!" Max sighed to Chloe, looking like she was dreaming away. Chloe had by now learned to appreciate all the love that Max showed her.

"You look hella cute in that dress. Of course, you look hella cute all the time, but even more so with that dress!" Chloe replied, looking relaxed and at ease.

"It's amazing to think about our past. Who knew we'd end up here together, sitting in a fancy restaurant and eating dinner, just the two of us? Especially considering last month…" Max contemplated.

"Yeah… I didn't think you'd return… And even after you did, I feared you wouldn't stick around. Hell, up until a few days ago, I still wasn't sure you'd stick around…" Chloe sensed this chat was going towards a dark and gritty subject and tried to force it away. This is not the time to think about that shit!

"But we're here. Together. In love. With each other. And that is hella awesome!" Chloe said, successfully averting a conversation full of shitty feelings and shitty years.

"Yes, we are. And there's no other place I'd rather be, and no one I'd rather be with." Max said sweetly.

The conversation continued with cuteness for a bit, before drifting into more casual topics. After a little while, the waiter returned to the table with their food. Max cut off a piece of the glazed duck breast and combined with a piece of potato, before tasting it. As the taste buds on her tongue touched the food, they lit up like crazy.

"My God, it's good! It's way better than I remembered… Well, I didn't remember, but this taste is something to remember! How was yours, Chloe?"

"It's actually pretty good! The bacon is warm and crispy, the salad is cold and crispy, and the dressing is amazeballs. 10/10 would eat again!" Chloe replied with a smile. Max didn't really figure Chloe for someone big on salads. Then again, with a body like hers, she either had to work out quite a bit or eat healthy sometimes. Apparently, the latter one, as Max rarely saw her going to the gym or anything. She did take a morning jog a few days while in Seattle, but she equalized that healthiness by munching on a bag of chips in the evening.

The conversation flowed naturally onwards, and the girls ended up with empty plates and full bellies. Letting out a happy sigh to signalize that they were full, both girls leaned back in the chairs a bit.

"Well, damn! That was really good, but I don't have room for anything else right now" Max exclaimed, sounding exactly as full as she described.

"Not even dessert?" Chloe asked.

"Are you crazy? I couldn't even eat a grape right now!" Max replied, laughing as she did.

"Really. That's too bad. I was thinking dessert in our room." Chloe teased

"But I don't think we can't bring anythi- Ooooh!" Suddenly Max realized that she had been completely oblivious to Chloe's hints.

Chloe gave out an audible sigh while smiling at the brown-haired dork sitting opposite of her.

"But, I guess since you're too full, we'll just have to drop dessert…" Chloe teased, trying to act disappointed

"Well, normal dessert is there no room for. But there might be room for sharing a special dessert with you if we wait a few minutes" Max replied

"Sounds good. The walk upstairs will hopefully be enough time to let the food sink down a bit, right?" Chloe asked in a playful voice.

"Should be" Max replied, giving Chloe a small wink

A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry for the long wait between last chapter and this. I've gotten Lukelele as my 'Beta Reader' in order to correct some grammar mistakes and give input on improvements and such. Many thanks to him! :)  
This might increase the time between uploads a bit, but should result in better quality of the story overall.

Thank you all for reading so far! Looking forward to keep on writing!


	24. Splashing in The Pool

Max opened her eyes forcefully.

She found herself standing in a paved, open area. Trees were gently swinging in the soft, but cold breeze that blew by. The sky was not visible due to a bright light that cut it off. So was the ground, at least a few 10's of meters away from Max where she stood. She knew this from before! This looked like whenever she had used a photograph to rewind time! This looked exactly like that!

'What? How can I be here? I don't remember using a photo or anything! The last thing I remember was… Dinner with Chloe. Then we got up to leave. And after that… I don't remember anything! Did I get drunk and used a photograph to rewind time? No, that can't be it. We each had a glass of wine, but other than that…'

Max suddenly felt a sharp pain in her head, bursting against her forehead.

"Argh!" She cried out, grabbing against her forehead with both her hands. She then felt something warm on her lips. It had a metallic taste. With one hand still on her forehead, she wiped the underside of her nose with the other hand, then looked at it. There was blood there. Quite a lot, as well. She hadn't bled this much from her nose before, not even when she stopped time to try to save Kate on the dorm rooftop. Her head hadn't hurt this much either back then. This pain was intense!

She tried to wait a few minutes, to see if the pain would recede and go away on its own, but it didn't. The pain remained the same, although now she was at least getting a bit used to it.

'If I stay here, nothing will happen, it seems. Guess I have to continue forward!' Max thought, looking out and trying to recognize where she was. There were trees and pavement. Grass and bushes. And… A fountain! Max recognized where she was! She was standing outside Blackwell Academy!

The minute she realized where she was, the pain started throbbing. Like a heartbeat, only really painful, and inside her head. Blood flowed from her nose to the point where it started dripping onto the ground, leaving a small trail of blood drops behind her.

Max walked slowly towards the doors leading to the main hall, in order to look for answers. But upon reaching the door, she tried to push the doors open, only to realize that the doors were locked. This was not the way she was intended to go.

Mustering the strength to look around, she drew a few quick and sharp breaths, before looking up to scout the main campus. Strangely, there was nobody there. The entire campus was empty. To be honest, there really weren't any signs of life at all! No cars driving by, no birds singing or tweeting, no annoying jocks throwing a pigskin around.

'Oh crap! Where is everyone?' Max thought. It was broad daylight, so unless this was a weekend, there should be people there. Hell, there should've been cars driving around, even during the weekends. But now there was nothing.

But thinking about where and when she was, was of little concern right now. The main priority was to get that headache and nosebleed to stop. Max looked towards the dormitories to see if there was anything over there but noticed quickly that path was obstructed by the bright, white, blurry "wall".

"Okay, not the dormitories, then."

She turned around, now searching a bit more frantically. The beat of the headache had increased slightly, and Max's pulse was already pretty high. Looking towards the parking lot, she realized that path was also blocked. However, the door to the swimming pool was not obstructed by one of the "walls".

'Please, please, please let this be the correct place! Otherwise, I have no idea where to go or what to do!'

Max walked quickly towards the doors, almost running. However, running caused her head to hurt even more, and the pain wasn't really bearable at this point.

Firmly placing her hands on the door handles to the pool building, she mustered the strength to push the doors open.

'Yes! It worked!'

Max walked inside the pool building, and the doors closed behind her. She was met by a darkened room, with only the underwater lights in the pool turned on. To Max's relief, the beating headache had stopped upon the doors closing behind her. Max started to look around for a bit, baffled by everything that was happening. Upon looking towards the pool, she noticed a familiar person in the water, floating on their back.

'At last! Someone else!' Max thought, before walking a bit closer to try and recognize whoever was relaxing in the water. It didn't take long before she could see that it was Chloe. The tattoo was present and couldn't be mistaken.

"Chloe! Oh, it's so good to see you!" Max yelled as she started walking quickly towards her. But Chloe didn't respond. Probably because her ears were underwater.

But upon closing in, Max could see that she wasn't floating on her back. She was floating on her stomach, face down into the water! "CHLOE!" Max yelled in panic and started running towards the closest edge to Chloe. Max jumped straight into the water and swam over to Chloe as fast as she could. She reached her, grabbed her shoulder with one arm, and her back with the other, and turned her over onto her back. Chloe's eyes were wide open as if she was in a state of shock. Max grabbed her head and started swimming towards the edge of the pool, just as she'd been doing with the training dummy earlier in the school year.

Upon reaching the edge, she tried to get a foothold while lifting Chloe's head gently onto the pool edge, before climbing out of the pool herself. She then carefully lifted Chloe's head, and grabbed her over the chest, and held onto her shoulder, in order to lift her out of the pool. Succeeding, she gently layed Chloe down on the floor. She then proceeded to start heart compressions in order to kick start her heart again.

"Come on, Chloe! Please come back to me! You are my entire world, Chloe." She yelled, pumping her hands atop Chloe's chest. "You are the reason why I can keep on going. Without you, I can't continue. I can't live on without you! I've changed countless timelines for you, and I've condemned a bay full of people, just for you!"

"So don't you dare leave me! Don't you dare!" Max cried out, her eyes welling up with tears.

After 30 compressions, she lifted Chloe's head backwards, checked that her tongue was not blocking her throat, then blew air into her mouth whilst blocking her nose. She repeated this for what seemed like hours, before finally succumbing to the painful fact that Chloe was dead. Drowned in the Blackwell pool.

"Chloe…" Max said between sobs, her face buried in her hands. Max just sat next to the lifeless bluenette, crying at her chest and hugging her. She didn't ever want to move. For all that Max cared, she could happily die next to Chloe. At least then they'd be together.

But after a few minutes, Max got up. 'NO!' she thought. 'This is not how it's supposed to go. This is not real, it cannot be! I can't explain how I suddenly got here, I can't explain how Chloe ended up here, I cannot explain the headache. The headache that seemed to beat with the same rhythm as Chloe's heart. None of it! This is a dream.'

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" Max screamed out into the room. She knew in her heart that this was not real. She didn't know exactly what was going on, but she knew at her core that this was not real.

"WHY AM I BEING TORMENTED LIKE THIS? WHY DO I KEEP WATCHING CHLOE DIE?"

No answer. Silence fell in the room, and only the gentle waves from the pool made a sound. Max paused for a bit, waiting for a reaction, for something to happen. But nothing did.

Feeling fed up with the current events, Max decided to take matters into her own hands.

"If this is real, and you're dead, Chloe, then I have nothing to live for. I don't want a life without you. On the other hand, if this is just a dream, then this should hopefully wake me up, and I'll see you soon. Either way, we'll be together again in a few minutes, Chloe. I promise!" Max said determined.

She turned away from Chloe's lifeless body, and walked over to the heavy metal crates in one of the corners of the room, that were used to store audio equipment. Max pushed one of the large crates into the water, and watched it sink all the way to the bottom. She then stood and stared at it for a few moments, before taking a deep breath. Looking over at Chloe, she was filled with sadness and anger that she had to experience that. But deciding that this was the best course of action for her, she pumped into the pool, and dove down to grab a hold of both handles on each side of the crate. The buoyancy of Max was fortunately not enough to lift the crate up. Max closed her eyes and focused on Chloe and the thought of seeing her again in a minute. She then opened her mouth to try to fill her lungs rapidly with water, which succeeded. Max used every bit of strength in her body to hold on tightly to the metal handles, and not give in to the intense stinging sensation in her chest. Finally, she felt tired, and her eyes slowly closed, as if she was falling asleep.


	25. Remembering

Max yanked herself up from the bed and gasped for air. She looked around franticly, searching for Chloe to see if she was okay.

"Max! Are you okay? What is it?" Chloe asked, awoken by Max's sudden and harsh movements in the bed.

"Chloe! Oh, god, Chloe!" Max exclaimed before pulling the bluenette close and wrapping both arms around her and burying her face in Chloe's shoulder.

"Hey, Max! It's okay! I'm here!" Chloe said softly as she hugged Max back. She could hear the petite brunette sobbing and crying in her shoulder, as if she'd had a horrible experience.

"Chloe!" Max managed to cry out between sobs. "I thought… I thought I lost you!".

Chloe squeezed Max tighter and leaned her head onto Max's.

"I don't know what happened, Max. But I've got you. And I'm not letting go. I'm never gonna let you go!" Chloe said sweetly and determined. There was no chance that anything would hurt her Max. Chloe would never allow for such a thing to happen! Not after everything they'd gone through together!

Max whimpered in Chloe's arms for a while, still trying to cope with what'd just happened. It was app just a dream, right? Just a stupid, macabre dream that meant nothing! Right?

Although unable to go back to sleep, Max rested in Chloe's arms for a considerable amount of time before getting up.

"Where are you going, Max?" Chloe asked sweetly.

"I… I need to step outside for a bit. It... Things got intense, and I just… I just need a minute" Max replied, sounding a bit confused and taken aback.

"Would you mind me joining you?" Chloe asked, not wanting to leave her beloved alone after what seemed like a terrible dream and a horrific experience.

"Please" Max replied simply. "I need you right now… I just don't need this room. Or sleep."

Chloe rose up from the bed, still naked after last evenings extravaganza, which both girls had really enjoyed at the time. She picked up yesterday's underwear, and put it on alongside a robe the hotel had been kind enough to provide. Stepping out on the balcony with Max, she leaned on the railing and put an arm around Max, pulling her closer. Letting out a sigh, Max leaned her head onto Chloe's shoulder and closed her eyes, wishing that she could stay here forever.

"Chloe…" Max started

"Hey. You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to. I'm here for you no matter what, okay?" Chloe interrupted

"No, it's… It's okay. I think I should talk about what happened. Maybe it'll put my mind at ease…"

"Okay. But only if you want to!"

Max let out a barely audible sigh under her breath, as she prepared to mentally re-live the horrors of the dream. Although it was replaying in her head all the time, it felt heavier to actually talk to someone about it, rather than just thinking about it. Something about talking made it more lively, and it meant she had to somewhat focus on what'd happened, rather than just passively letting it swirl in her head.

"Okay, bear with me. It's gonna be macabre and probably sound stupid."

"Hey… It's okay." Chloe said while softly running her fingers through the brunette's hair.

"Okay… Here goes. So I suddenly found myself in some sort of lot. Maybe a parking lot? Or in the road. There was some kind of white fog-barrier that blocked my vision. Then it sorta expanded, and I found myself standing in front of the school. And I suddenly got a pounding headache. It was very painful, and it was beating with a rhythm… Like, a heart rhythm…"

"Go on" Chloe said softly, being careful not to push Max into saying or remembering something she didn't want to.

"Well, I went towards the doors to the main building, but they were locked, and I couldn't get in. I tried to walk over to the dormitories, but that fog-barrier thing stopped me before I could get there. It was the same as when I rewind using a photo. I can move freely within the past, but only to an extent. Anyway, I couldn't get to the dormitories, and the rhythm increased. It wasn't bearable. So I almost ran over to the pool building to see if I could get in there to stop the headache. And the doors were fortunately open, so I ran inside. And the headache stopped suddenly. And then…"

Max stopped. Chloe could see distraught and pain in her eyes, and tears started forming in the corner of Max's eyes.

"You don't have to go on…" Chloe started, but was quickly shot down by Max.

"Yes. I have to. It's the only way to put that pain behind me" she said.

"Okay"

"The headache had stopped. And the doors shut close after me. I never checked if they locked themselves or not… So I found myself in the pool area. It looked just like when we went for a night time swim there." Again, Max stopped to draw her breath and think for a second about the dream.

"I looked towards the pool, and saw you floating there. At first I thought you were just floating on your back and relaxing. But when I approached… You were lying face down in the water, Chloe!"

Chloe looked a bit distraught, and pulled Max a bit closer. "I'm sorry that happened to you, Max".

"Yea… I jumped in and got you onto the floor. And I tried CPR, but… you died, Chloe. You died in that pool, and I couldn't save you."

Chloe's eyes were now starting to well up with tears as well.

"And I decided I couldn't live without you. To be honest, it felt more and more like a dream. Or rather a nightmare. But even if it was real, I wouldn't want to live without you. So I did what I thought I had to do. I… Chloe, I drowned myself for you."

"What?" Chloe was shocked.

"I did. I pushed one of those metal crates into the water, and held on to it until I drowned. And then I woke up."

"Max, you… You fucking drowned yourself because of me?" Chloe asked with eyes full of tears and a shaky mouth.

"Yes I did. And I would do it again." Max replied

"…fuck…" Chloe sobbed, before hugging Max with all her might. Hearing Max say that she was willing to die for her, pushed her over the edge, and Chloe started crying. Tears were now drippling freely down her soft and puffy cheeks.

Both girls stood on that balcony for what seemed like hours, hugging each other in the gentle, cool nighttime air. The skies were fairly dark, but they could see a glimmer of light on the horizon, indicating that the sun would probably get up in not too many hours from now.

Max reluctantly broke the hug after a few minutes. It was getting a bit cold, and she was shivering a bit, which Chloe noticed.

"You cold, Maxaroni?"

Max nodded

"Okay. Let's get you inside" Chloe said sweetly. The way Chloe talked to Max when she was either hurt or just needed some snuggles, really warmed Max's heart. Chloe had such a soft and sweet voice when she was calm and talking with someone she loved. But she could have a harsh and sharp voice when talking to someone she didn't care a whole lot for.

Max and Chloe stepped inside, and lied down on top of the bed in each other arms, doing nothing but relaxing and enjoying each other's company.

"Chloe… I meant everything I said. I literally can't live without you by my side" Max said in a low voice.

"I know, Max. And I feel the same way" Chloe replied gently

"Why do you think this is happening to me? Is it a side effect of having rewind powers, or is it just my head that's messing with me?"

"I don't know. But we'll figure it out. Together"

"Promise?" Max asked

"Promise!" Chloe replied

"Come here" Max said, before carefully rolling onto Chloe. Their heads were close, and Max gazed down into Chloe's deep, blue eyes. She could lose herself for days just looking at them, if she wasn't careful. Gently lowering her head, their lips crept towards each other in a painfully slow pace, until they finally met. It was a passionate kiss, as it usually was with Max, but Chloe could swear this carried more meaning and more feelings than usual.

"I'm yours, and you're mine" Chloe said after their kiss was broken apart.

"Oh, Chloe" Max sighed, before resuming the kiss. Her hands started out with going through the bluenette's hair, but eventually her hands started to wander downwards. First towards her shoulders. Then towards her hips.

"Oh, Max!" Chloe gently cried out.

A/N: Sorry I haven't posted in a little while. Things are getting busy irl, and I barely have time to write. Not gonna let that stop me, though ;)

Thank you to everyone sticking with me so far :)


	26. Finally Some Sleep

*VRRRRRRRRR*

The desk fan in the lobby was loud and slightly annoying, Max thought. The clerk took long enough to gather all the information required for Max and Chloe to check out of the hotel. Strangely, this motel seemed so nice earlier. But now it seemed lazy and half-assed. There were litter on the ground, the staff was a bit rude and not very helpful, and Max got a generally bad vibe from the place.

Chloe was outside as usual, stowing the bags in her truck. The heat was almost unbearable, as Chloe was sweating like a pig. Leaning into the driver seat of the truck, she turned the air condition to max cooling in a vain attempt to bring the temperature in the car down a bit. At least enough so they could drive for a little while without fear of passing out.

Finally swiping her card, Max paid for the stay, and rushed to get out to Chloe. However, before she left the motel, she could see the heat waves radiating from the truck. Giving it a second thought, she walked over to a nearby vending machine to buy two overpriced bottles of water. As Max approached Chloe outside, she threw one of the bottles towards Chloe.

"Think fast!" she yelled playfully as the bottle left her hand and started a graceful flight towards Chloe.

"Thanks!" Chloe replied as she caught the bottle mid-air. The bottle was pretty wet from condensation already, so the contents were probably ice-cold. At least that's how it felt.

After standing around a bit, drinking water and trying to cool the car off, Max and Chloe decided to just live with the heat, and got into the car. It was time to leave this place. Although the hotel had seemed to nice when they first got there, it showed its true colors after that first night. When Max had had that nightmare about Chloe's death, she had fallen into an emotional pit, where she had become really clingy to Chloe, and almost hadn't let her out of her sights all day. Though a bit tiring, Chloe could definitely understand why she was that way. She'd probably be a nervous wreck herself, had something like that happened to her. But now they could just sit back and enjoy the road trip back to Arcadia. There were still a few stops to be had, but Max wasn't eager to get back to Arcadia. Or Blackwell, for that matter. Not after that damn nightmare…

"How're you doing, my Max? Feeling a bit better?" Chloe asked, trying to break the silence. Not that it was an awkward silence, but Max was suspiciously quiet. Maybe she was just tired? She hadn't slept last night, so that could definitely be a reason…

"Fine, I guess". There was a bit of sass in her voice, but it couldn't be helped. Realizing that it could be interpreted the wrong way, Max corrected herself a bit.

"I mean, I'm just really tired. I can hardly even think straight, let alone focus on stuff. And I know that I might be sorta clingy… But I'm just so scared about that dream… What if it'll come true? I-"

"Hey. Relax. Don't worry. I don't mind you being a bit clingy. Means more snuggles for me, right? And I understand that you're tired. I'll watch over you. Try to relax a bit"

"Thanks, sweetheart" Max sighed and drank a sip of water, before lying back in her seat and trying to get some much needed sleep.

Driving for a good while was tiring for Chloe. As much as she wanted her sweetheart to get some much needed sleep, she herself felt the need to stop and take a breather and to stretch her legs further than just down to the pedals.

Stopping the car at a small field of gravel, Chloe gently stepped out of the car. She made sure to stay close to the car and in view of Max, just so she couldn't freak out and panic if she woke up and discovered that Chloe wasn't there.

'Boy, she's a mess. I wish there was something I could do to help her… But I guess she just needs time to figure this out for herself. Fuck, after what she told me, I can't judge her. I'd be pretty messed up as well… My poor Max…'

The skies were blue, and the sun was boiling hot, but at least there was some wind to be had. A soft and gentle breeze cooled Chloe's skin a bit, and was warmly welcome by her. Going against her better judgement, she decided to take a little walk to gather her mind a bit, and to further stretch her legs a bit. She usually went for a little jog back in Arcadia Bay, but ever since she went to Seattle, she had stopped doing so in order to be with Max a bit more.

However, clever as Chloe was, she wrote a small note and left it on the driver's seat, just in case Max woke up and freaked out. In Chloe's mind, this could justify her absence. A bit more than if not, at least.

After a little while, Chloe found herself in a field of clovers that stretched for quite a distance. If nothing else, this was a moment of tranquility. Not that being with Max was pretty fucking tranquil as well, but upon getting some time alone, she realized that maybe she needed it, if nothing else but to think about her life and stuff. She was only human, after all, and needed time to gather herself every now and again.

Sitting in a soft bed of clovers, and feeling the warmth of the sun on her face, Chloe sat in that field and contemplated her life for a bit. She'd had mixed feeling about returning to the Bay ever since mid-way through their little vacation up in Seattle, but they seemed to grow steadily as she came close and closer to home.

But she couldn't just sit out there and feel sorry for herself, could she? She had responsibilities now. She had to care for Max. She had to care for the one she loved with all her heart, and it was an unusual feeling of responsibility. On one hand, she hated having to be responsible for anything, and usually ended up doing the exact opposite. But on the other hand, this was Max she was talking about! The one person in Chloe's miserable little life that actually cared about her. That actually loved her! Except for William, of course, but he was gone. Taken from Chloe so far to early. And Joyce… Well, Joyce loved Chloe, she knew that. But they didn't exactly see eye to eye all the time, and when every day becomes a shouting competition, it sorta loses the meaning.

Feeling a bit warm and bored, Chloe finally decided to get back up and head back for the car. Who knew, maybe Max had woken up already, and was freaking out left and right when Chloe was suddenly gone? She didn't like the thought of that scenario, and picked up the pace a little. Fortunately, it seemed like Max was still fast asleep in the passenger seat in Chloe's car.

With a sense of relief, Chloe got into the driver's seat of the car, started the engine back up, and pulled back onto the road. It was time to move onwards, and to slowly creep towards Arcadia again.


	27. Food And Familiar Faces

Opening the door, Chloe assessed the room from a distance, before finally entering. She looked at the room with doubt and suspicion as she walked around, looking for potential flaws or faults. Spending a few more minutes searching, Chloe finally concluded that he room was okay. Satisfied with Chloe's assessment, Max grinned smugly as she walked into the hotel room. Chloe was a goofball. But she was Max's goofball.

"So, Max. Think you're gonna be able to sleep tonight? I mean, you napped pretty hard in the car, dude!"

"I hope so! I was pretty knocked out from last night, and I just really needed some sleep," Max said. "Of course, in the event that I'm not able to fall asleep, I'm sure I can find some interesting ways to spend the night. Don't you?"

"Oh, I'm sure you can find ways of entertaining yourself… Although I think you'd much prefer it if I helped you come up with something…" Chloe said suggestively with a relaxed look and a clever smile.

Max grinned widely as Chloe offered her help.

"Well, everything is much more fun with you around"

Chloe laid on the bed, looking at Max. She didn't say anything, she just looked at her and had a satisfied smile on her face.

"Hi" Max said after opening her eyes.

"Hi yourself" Chloe replied.

"What's up?"

"Nothing"

"You sure? You're looking at me in much a way, almost seductive. I'm not disliking it, though!" Max said, smiling.

"I'm just happy to be here with you… Happy to have you" Chloe replied, holding her smile and her relaxed look.

'To have me. She has me. It's a bit assertive, but I like it! She is mine and I am hers'.

"Well, look who's being cute," Max teased. "I could just eat you up!"

"Maybe tonight" Chloe replied, causing both girls to snort and laugh a bit.

"Perv!" Max replied whilst smiling.

"Speaking of eating, maybe we should get something? I've not eaten a whole lot today, and I'm getting pretty hungry. How about you?" Max asked. As if it was written or pre-determined, as she had just finished the question, Max's stomach gave off a slight, but audible, growl.

"Yea, sounds like you're pretty dang hungry, Maximus. I could do for something to eat too. Maybe some waffles? Or perhaps some awesome eggs and bacon? I know it might not be mom's cooking, but hell, maybe it's not all half bad?"

"Well, I suppose we don't have a whole lot to lose, other than our appetite. Did you have anywhere in mind?" Max asked

"I saw some sort of diner on our way here, just a few minutes away." Chloe said, visibly looking excited. She was either really hungry, or really longed for eating at another diner. Either way, Max was up for some eating, and it was always fun to see the Love of her life being excited about something.

"Alright, then. Since my stomach is yelling at us, and you're really excited to go, I guess I'll just put on some clothes and we should get going"

"Hella ye!" Chloe exclaimed, before picking up on the fact that she could be perceived as overly excited for something pretty normal. During most of her life, Chloe had always thought of others as an inconvenience, and that their opinion of her didn't matter for shit. She was used to others treating and considering her as shit, but she hadn't cared back then. But now that someone actually really did care for her… She felt it might be a good idea to start moderating herself a bit. Not that she thought that Max would hurt her, but she still feared being hurt through Max, and that was a thought she wasn't happy thinking.

"Chloe? Are you alright?"

"Huh? Yea, I'm fine!"

Chloe's thoughts had apparently drifted for some time, because Max was standing in front of her, all dressed up for the day, whilst Chloe was still lying in bed, as she had been doing for 15 minutes now.

"It looked as if you were in some pretty deep thoughts, Chlo. Are you okay?"

"Yea… It's… It's nothing." Chloe said, trying to shake it off.

"Well, I'm here if you need to talk, hun. At any time"

"Thanks, Maxarino." Chloe sighed slightly. "Now let's get something to eat, huh!" She shot up excited. She was used to Joyce's cooking, but visiting another diner to eat there was something she hadn't really done for a long time. After William had passed away, Joyce had to work more and harder to provide for the family, and David's wage didn't exactly provide extreme comfort of luxury. And after that, they hadn't really gone out to eat dinner like a family.

Max and Chloe walked out of the hotel, and stopped outside.

"Should we get the car, or just walk over there?" Max asked. The sun was shining, but there was a cold nip in the air. Walking would probably keep them warm enough, but if they were to eat hella lot of food, they might not want to walk back to the hotel. On the other hand, it might be good for them to walk it off.

"Nah, we can walk, right? Would only do us good, I imagine. Unless you're cold. In that case, we can take the car." Chloe answered, making sure to take Max into consideration.

"It's pretty okay, I think we can walk" Max said sweetly, before leaning up to Chloe to give her a little kiss on the cheek. Something about the way Max was being all cute and stuff was heart melting for Chloe, but a sweet and innocent little peck on her cheek was really adorable. It felt like love, Chloe thought. And it should, considering that Max loved Chloe and Chloe loved Max.

"Eh, tell you what. If we get suuuper stuffed, we can take a taxi back to the hotel. That way, we can feel good about eating a lot, since we walked, but we don't have to worry about getting back. Sounds good?" Chloe suggested

"Sounds hella good" Max replied with a clever smile, causing Chloe to grin widely.

Cars whizzed by as Max and Chloe made their way towards the diner. The little town they stopped in seemed okay, but it definitely wasn't too far off from the way Arcadia looked like, at least Before The Storm. This place seemed quiet, which was someone the two girls had to get used to. With Nathan dead, Jeffershit gone, and the storm finally being over, maybe things in Arcadia would return to its quiet, formal glory of being a peaceful fisher bay.

Walking past an alley, Max peeked into it, and saw a character sitting along the dark brick wall. The sun was up, but didn't cast a lot of lighting into the alley. Squinting, Max could see the character. It was an old lady. She looked kinda familiar, but Max couldn't pinpoint where she'd seen her before. As Max and Chloe was about to round the corner, the old lady looked up a bit, and smiled at Max, before Max passed the alley.

"Strange. I think I've seen that woman before…" Max said in a low voice.

"What old lady? Come on, Max. I think the diner is just around this corner!" Chloe said, grabbing Max's hand and speeding up a bit. It was pretty obvious that she was really hungry and pretty excited to eat at another diner type of place.

Rounding the corner, Max and Chloe stared at the diner. There it was. Finally! And just in time, too, as Chloe's stomach growled.

"Chloe's tummy uses Growl. It's super effective!"

"Huh?" Chloe said, having a genuinely confused look on her face.

Max laughed, and looked away. "Nothing, you silly. Ignore me".

"I'm not gonna ignore my geeky friend, no matter how many obscure references you make!" Chloe said, before planting a kiss on top of Max's head and pulling her a bit closer. "Now let's get eating, so my stupid stomach will finally shut up!" Chloe suggested.

Entering the diner, a wave of nostalgia hit the girls like a train. The diner had a good feel about it, and it reminded the girls of how The Two Whales once was like, back before Max moved to Seattle. The diner felt clean, yet old. It felt worn, yet everything seemed in working order. Hell, they even had a jukebox in the corner.

Finding a booth, Max and Chloe sat down and had a look at the menu on the table.

"There's a lot of the same things that The Two Whales serve… Pancakes, Waffles, Eggs and bacon, toast… Are we back in Arcadia or what?" Chloe joked. Fortunately for Max, they weren't. Max really enjoyed the trip, and didn't really want it to end. But it had to, eventually. They were creeping closer and closer to the bay, and eventually they would be back for the first time in many weeks.

"Yea… Lots of the same stuff. I think I'm just gonna do a tower of ham and cheese toasts. I don't want to run the risk of tasting waffles or anything like that here, only to have them taste better. I have determined that Joyce's cooking is the best I'm gonna taste, at least for a long time!" Max said, partly joking, partly not.

"Well… I'm no good at cooking… YET!" Chloe inserted.

"Maybe not yet. But all in good time. Your baking skills are definitely on a sharp rise, and it's definitely comparable to Joyce's." Max assured her. She really enjoyed cooking, and Max really enjoyed eating what she cooked.

"Hell, you could probably soon cook a rock, and I'd happily gobble it down" Max continued.

"Hmm… Maybe I'm still a few steps away from that. Would be pretty cool, though. Maybe we could eventually get the rock to cook itself, too" Chloe said

Max was a bit confused, but assumed this was just Chloe's mind wandering to strange places.

"If that would happen, I'd end up asking the old question" Chloe continued rambling about that cooking thingy.

"And what question is that?" Max was still confused, but decided to go along with it.

"Can you smell what The Rock is cooking?" Chloe said, before breaking out into laughter. Max smiled a bit, but was very confused. 'What?' she thought to herself.

"Sorry, internal joke, I guess… Wait, is this how you feel when you do references that I don't really get?" Chloe asked

"Pretty much, yea." Max answered, still a bit confused about the joke, but understanding that, in time, she might get it. Or just forget it all together. Either way was fine with her.

"I like it. You have such a cute face when confused. Not to say that you don't usually have a cute face, of course. I mean…. Ummm…." Chloe had managed to drive herself into a word-ditch, and not getting out.

"You're so cute when you try to be cute, then stumble and fall. Somehow, it's ever cuter than you being cute. Which itself is cute." Max said in a sweet tone, looking directly into Chloe's sheepish eyes.

"Guess I'm just cute squared, then" Chloe said, satisfied with herself.

"Together we're cute cubed, then" Max smiled.

"Infinitely cute" Chloe corrected her

"Forever" Max added.

A/N: Hey. Again, sorry for long delays between posts. Been busy and having some writer's block. Just a heads up: During summer vacation, I most likely won't be uploading new stuff due to lack of internet. I might write a bit tho. Just thought you'd like to know :)  
Thanks for sticking with me so far. Not planning on stopping this anytime soon!


	28. Returning

The day had almost passed, and Max and Chloe had found shelter in their usual style of motel. Somewhat good quality, without breakfast or any special additions to their room. They had been travelling for some time, and were happy with simply relaxing in the room, Max reading a book called "The do's and don'ts of photography and cinematography". She knew a lot of what the book said from school, but there were a few handy tips and tricks in there. Chloe was laying over her lap, playing on her phone and occasionally checking Facebook. However, her Facebook usually consisted of lurking in the news feed, never really posting anything herself. The only exception had been when they'd gone public with their relationship, and marked themselves with "In a relationship" with the other. And although there had been lots of positive comments there, negative ones had naturally found their way in there. Which was actually quite sad, given the fact that they loved each other. Why would people hate on that?

Not that it mattered, in the end. As long as they were together, everything was fine. Even if the whole world tried to push them down, they'd support each other, and beat the world.

Chloe turned her phone screen off, and curled up a bit in Max's lap, shifting into a more comfortable position. Max peeked down from her book, and met Chloe's eyes as she laid in Max's lap. The book was less than interesting, and being with Chloe was a lot more fun than anything, so it really wasn't a difficult choice. Max put the book down, and leaned down to kiss Chloe. Their lips touched, and both girls could feel how much they loved each other. Not that they needed reminding, but it was a nice feeling when they were together, sharing something.

Time went on, and before long, it was already night and about time to get some sleep. Tomorrow was the last part of their trip, and when they'd finally reach Arcadia Bay again.

"I'm thinking I'll take a shower before going to bed. Care to join in?" Chloe said with a clever smirk. "I'd love to" Max said, blushing a bit. Chloe was somewhat surprised that Max was still able to blush whenever Chloe suggested doing something that involved sexytime, but she still did. Chloe really thought it was cute, though, so she was happy still.

After a nice, warm shower, it was time to head to bed and try to get some sleep. It was late, and they would need every bit of strength for tomorrow.

"Chloe." Max said.

"Yes, Maximus?" Chloe answered.

"I'm… I'm a bit scared to go back to Arcadia… I mean, we haven't been there since Before the Storm… And I don't know if I wanna go back there."

"I know how you feel, Maxi. I have been second guessing myself ever since we left… But I think we should go back. We shouldn't let this thing beat us down and win. We have our entire lives so far in that Bay. And although I don't mind starting anew someplace else, just the two of us, it'd be sad to leave everything behind."

"Yea… I know there's every reason for us to stay, and that everything will be fine. But I can't help but… but to think of all the horrors that happened that week…" Max paused

"Of course it wasn't all bad. I met you. And we got together. That really was the highlight of the week!" Max said

"Highlight of the year, if you ask me!" Chloe smiled

"Highlight of my life so far" Max added, looking back at Chloe and smiling lovingly.

After a pretty good and somewhat uneventful night, Max and Chloe got up when the alarm clock went off. The entire room smelled of sex and sweat, and both girl's clothes were piled up in a corner.

"Mmmmm… Good morning, sleepyhead" Max uttered, being only half awake herself.

Chloe just grunted and tried to bury her head in the bedsheets, but Max was determined. If they were going to return to Arcadia Bay today, it'd be when the sun was still up, and they'd have time to go around town. Last time they'd seen it, everything was either wrecked or partly wrecked. Joyce had been talking about how everyone was helping with the rebuilding, but Max wanted to see it with her own eyes.

"Come on, Chloe," Max said. "The Bay isn't gonna wait for us all day, and we gotta get moving pretty soon."

Again, Chloe grunted and tried her best to go back to sleep. "Just a few more minutes…" she mumbled. "…or hours…" she added.

Max realized that mere persuasion would almost certainly fail, as Chloe could be quite determined in the morning. Max got up from the bed, and sat down on the edge of the bed, next to Chloe's feet. She then proceeded to gently tickle Chloe's feet, causing her to giggle.

"Max! Stawp! No, please no." She uttered in between giggles. "Okay, I'll get up, I'll get up!" she finally gave in, and Max stopped the tickling, and rather leaned down to kiss her ankles.

"It's not how I usually wake up in the morning, but it isn't the worst way" she said, rising up in the bed.

"We should get dressed, hun. We have a long day ahead of us, both time-wise and emotionally-wise. At least I do." Max said

"Yea, same here. I wanted to leave everything behind. But after doing so, I kinda want to go back. But then again, if nothing's changed…"

"It has. Now that Nathan and Jeffershit is gone, everything will hopefully calm down again…" Max tried to reassure Chloe, and it seemed to help a bit. Chloe turned towards Max, and gave her a gentle kiss on her lips. It wasn't one of those "really really passionate" ones, but a nice morning gesture, of which Max was happy to repay at any time.

After getting dressed for the big day in sweaty clothes, Max and Chloe settled the motel bill, and got in the car, ready for the final stretch. They could've completed the trip days ago, but it was so fun for both of them to have a road trip, where nothing else mattered but each other.

"Okay, if we follow this route, we'll be in Arcadia within an hour or two. That leaves us plenty of time to explore the Bay again, meet up with mom and David, and for you to hang out with your classmates, if you want to"

"Chloe. I spend enough time with them as is. I can catch up with them tonight instead."

"Alright. To Arcadia Bay, then!" Chloe announced, as she pulled out of the motel driveway, and turned to the right after the first light-intersection. Max checked her bag for the two bottles of water she'd bought for them at the motel. For more than 4 times the average price, to her frustration. But now both girls were underway to Arcadia Bay, excited and anxious to see what sight would await them.

"Wake up, Max!" Chloe yelled. Max opened her eyes, and gave Chloe a confused look. "What's wrong, Chloe?"

"We're almost there. I'm starting to recognize this place!" Chloe replied. Looks like this was it. The final little stretch before they reached the Bay. Max looked around, and could see a few small pieces of junk still lying in the fields they drove past. There had definitely been some cleanup work done in the area.

"Hopefully the Bay area looks a bit better than this…" Max said under her breath.

"Yeah…" Chloe agreed.

Continuing for a few minutes still, Chloe eventually stopped the car.

"Well… This is it. There's the 'You're now leaving Arcadia Bay' sign…" Chloe sighed. "You know, there's still time. We can just turn around and leave our old lives here. You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

Max sighed as well. "No… I have to do this. I have to conquer the fear and hurt that happened here, and let the good memories win."

"You sure?"

"Yes"

"Okay, Max. Here we go…" Chloe said, before starting the car up again and started rolling past the sign. It was now official. They were back in Arcadia Bay!

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, but it felt right to end it where I did. Trying to drive the story forwards a bit, and put some feels in there.


	29. Reunited

"So… Where do you wanna go first?" Chloe asked almost eagerly.

"Well, we went to my parents, and they were thrilled to see me again. I'm sure Joyce and David would love to actually see you for the first time in like a month or something. So I'd suggest we go visit them first" Max replied. True, Chloe hadn't seen David or Joyce in quite some time, but she had texted Joyce pretty often, and talked with her on the phone like once every week or so.

It wasn't that Chloe wasn't glad to be back. Although she once hated the place, it had redeemed itself by having Max and Chloe meet again, and create lasting memories, regardless of all the bad things that'd happened.

When they'd left, the sky was blue and a lot of the town was demolished. It had been the worst down by the boardwalk, but it wasn't exactly contained there. A lot of houses had gotten their fair share of debris, resulting in knocked down walls, holes through the houses, and destroyed cars.

Now, however, things looked a lot better. Houses were fixed and repainted, and trees had been properly cut and removed. Broken cars and some debris were still remaining, although a lot less than when Max and Chloe had left. Driving towards the Price residence, both girls could see that the destruction in the area had been more intense by every meter they came closer towards the shore. Lucky for Chloe, her house wasn't on the beach, exactly. But it was close enough to have sustained a lot of damage. At least in Chloe's mind.

"Chloe. Look…" Max noted, causing Chloe to snap out of whatever daydream state she was in. Looking up, she saw her house down the street. She also saw that the front door and wall had been rebuilt, and wasn't painted. Chloe feared the worst, even though she'd spoken to Joyce several times, being reassured that everything was fine. Chloe stepped on the throttle a bit, and hurried the car into the driveway. She barely had time to put the handbrake on and kill the engine before opening the door and rushing towards the front door of the house.

"Chloe" Max yelled, before she got out of the truck and followed her. This was the first time Max had seen Chloe so agitated in a long time. Max knew that deep down she cared for Joyce, and maybe she had the potential to care about David too somewhere down the line.

Chloe noticed that the door was changed, and was a rather crude replacement. Although the door was new, maybe they'd kept the same lock and keys? Chloe got her keys out, and fumbled with them, trying to find the right one. Finally finding it, she stuck it into the lock, and turned it.

Success! The lock swung, and Chloe opened the door. "MOM?" She yelled.

…

"Chloe!" a voice yelled from upstairs. It didn't take a lot of seconds before Max and Chloe could see Joyce almost running down the stairs. "Oh my God, Chloe! My sweet, sweet Chloe." Joyce said before hugging Chloe and almost smothering her. "Urk… mom…" Chloe said, sounding half-choked. "Oh, sorry" Joyce said as she loosened the grip a bit. "And Max. It's so good to see you both!"

This time Max was gonna leave Chloe alone with her parents to do a bit of initial catching up, whilst she'd go to the truck and pick up the bags and luggage. They hadn't left Arcadia with a lot of stuff, but they did return with more.

Max struggled a bit to get the heaviest bag out of Chloe's truck without laying down the back part. Standing on one wheel and leaning over, the short girl slid the bag over to her side of the truck, and tried her best to lift it up over the edge, but to no avail. Suddenly she heard a somewhat unpleasant and familiar voice from behind her.

"Need some help with that?"

Max could feel her heart raise, and she instantly let go of the bag and quickly turned around. There he stood. The tall and wide-shouldered guy who had saved Max's life in a different reality. But that reality never happened in this timeline. Instead, Max had gotten him kicked out of the house after exposing him to Joyce and Chloe. And later on had the balls to come ask him for help. Max was unsure of where she stood with him. On one hand, he had had the best of intentions for what he was doing. He only wanted to see things right, and follow every lead, wherever it might lead him.

Though, on the other hand, he had been doing things the wrong way. He had done a lot of bad stuff, both in pursue of his goal, but also in private. Max had seen him slap Chloe right across her cheek with the back of his hand when she'd been hiding in Chloe's closet, right after they were reunited.

'Ultimately that sort of thing is unforgivable. Who knows what'll drive him over the edge next time? He could try to hurt Chloe. MY Chloe!' Max's thoughts raced around.

"—ay? Maxine? Are you okay?"

"Huh? Yea, I'm fine… Max, by the way. Never Maxine" Max replied, snapping out of her deep thoughts.

"Max. Gotcha'. My question still stands" David replied, causing Max to get a bit defensive. 'What was he after? I didn't get the question! Is he trying to get information from me? What does he want now?!'

David could see on Max's face that she wasn't following him.

"Do you need any help with the bags? Some of them look quite heavy for a girl of your size. No offense intended" David said, actually trying to sound kind. This caught Max off guard, who responded with a blunt "what". No question mark on the end, no exclamation. Just a "what".

"Look, Maxin—Max. I know I'm a dick, pardon my language. I know I've done some bad stuff to both you and others. Especially Chloe and Joyce… I want you to know that I mean well, and that I'm trying to change into someone better. And I know I have no right to ask this of you, but please. Give me a shot. Let me try to prove that I am capable of being nice. I don't want people to remember me as the hard-ass that never gave anyone a chance. And I know that I need to separate my work life and my personal life. Please help me do so by giving me a chance."

What David said sounded heartfelt, and Max's heart certainly fell a bit. He did speak some truth. He was a dick. But he was also right. He meant well, deep down. And giving him a chance to better his relationship with both Chloe and Joyce, as well as many others… Well, that would be worth it.

"You know…" Max started, and she could instantly see the expression on David's face. His eyes looked down a bit, his eyebrows lowered. He was expecting to be verbally beaten down by Max. Again.

"… These bags are actually quite heavy… You could help me with them, if you wouldn't mind" Max finished her sentence, and it took a second or two for David to realize that this was Max giving him a chance to help. A chance to start his path of redemption.

David stepped over to the truck, leaned in, and lifted the remaining bags out of the truck. Grabbing as many as he could, he walked towards the door with Max, carrying two bags herself. "Thank you, Max. I appreciate it!".

"I'll try to be nicer to you if you promise to do the same. Though I can't really speak for Chloe… She might still give you a hard time"

"Yea… I just hope she will eventually give me a chance as well. If she does, I'll be sure not to let it go to waste. I just want her to be happy…"

David carried the bags inside and up to Chloe's room, with Max just a few steps behind him.

'Wowser. It's been a month or so… This feels so surreal… So strange…'

"I put the bags over by that wall over there. And thank you, Max. Thank you for believing in me. I'll see you around" David said, before leaving the room and closing the door behind him. Now Max was all alone in Chloe's room. It was so strange to be back here. Back to the spot where Max had first kissed Chloe. Max chuckled a bit. 'That expression was priceless. Still is. She so didn't expect me to kiss her. I'm glad I did, though. Otherwise we might not even be here… Stop that thought! It's not a pleasant one!'.

Max continued to walk around the room a bit, looking at how things looked exactly like when they left everything.

Concluding her own little tour of the room, Max eventually decided she might go downstairs and see what was up with Chloe. For all she knew, Chloe could be fighting with both Joyce and David, and the whole "happy return" thingy could've gone sour.

Walking down the stairs at a medium pace, Max was relieved that Chloe was, in fact, sitting in the sofa, right next to Joyce, talking about some of the things that they'd experienced during the little road trip. Nothing as drastic or revealing as "We've basically been screwing and cuddling each other all the time, learning to appreciate the moment and not to rewind- Hey, did I tell you? Max can turn back time. And change the past. She got William back, but I died there. By her hand, I might add. But that's okay, apparently I wanted that. Also, her parents were fine with us being super gay. So now we're back. What's new here?". She rather went on about how they'd been going on hikes and such, and the general trip back. Chloe had told Joyce that the two of them were dating, but amidst all the chaos after the tornado had hit, Max decided that Joyce might've forgotten about it. Not that Max had anything to hide, of course. But she didn't want Joyce to pry on them.

Max and Chloe spent a good amount of time sitting around at the Price residence, talking about the trip, and getting some of the latest information about what'd happened in the Bay after they'd left. Apparently the Prescotts son, Nathan, had died in the tornado, and the Prescotts had completely left town. They had even been so generous as to donate their shares in businesses and companies here to the companies themselves. Arcadia was now apparently self-governed. At least as far as economics went.

"Hey, Chloe. That means that Blackwell now belongs to… Blackwell. Hopefully the school will be a lot better from now on!" Max exclaimed in joy!

"Yea. I hope so!" Chloe replied relieved.


	30. Long Walks on The Beach

Driving down the road, Max reluctantly suggested they'd drive down towards the bay area to properly check out some of the damage done.

"You sure, Maxi?" Chloe asked worriedly. She didn't want Max to unnecessarily experience painful memories, but she had her reasons. She had to overcome the painful memories if they were to stay in Arcadia, even for more than just a few weeks. And since Max still had to finish this year at school, PLUS another one before graduating, just ignoring the place was out of the question.

Coming down the main road, Chloe pulled up to the parking lot just by The Two Whales. Or, what was left of it. To be fair, they'd done a remarkable job rebuilding the place, considering how it looked when Max and Chloe had left the town. Back then, the entire place had been more or less in ruins. But now there was buildings there, and the streets had been cleaned up pretty well.

Max let out a quiet sigh. It was good to see the town was rebuilding, but at the same time it was terrifying to stand there amidst the houses that had, a month and change ago, been flung around the beach area and destroyed. It was a weird feeling. A feeling of being indestructible, yet so very vulnerable at the same time. Max grabbed for Chloe's hand, and squeezed it firmly. It was warm and soft. And exactly what Max needed to calm her nerves a bit. Chloe didn't say anything, but Max knew that she was there for her. She also got the idea that Chloe was actually pretty affected by the thing herself. Over the last few days, she'd been acting a bit… different. Oftentimes going outside, oftentimes avoiding the talk of returning or talk about Arcadia at all. Sure, she'd told Max that she didn't have a lot left over for Arcadia anymore, but still. Nothing? There had to be something bothering her. And Max was determined to find out what and help her.

"How're you holding up, Chloe?" Max asked carefully. She knew that the right question at the wrong time could be pretty upsetting for Chloe. But fuck it. Helping her would be worth it.

Chloe let out a sigh, barely audible, before looking towards Max and putting on a slight smile. "I'm okay. More importantly is: How are you?"

"I'm hanging in there. It's just so weird being back here, you know? I'm… I'm not sure exactly what to do or where to go. Just return to our old lives? Act like nothing happened?" Chloe could hear that Max was tensing up a bit.

"I just… When we were up in Seattle, I didn't… I didn't really think about the fact that we would eventually return here… And.—and it's messing with my head. I think part of me still wants to be in Seattle. Part of me doesn't want to return here and face the fact that… The fact that I caused all of this to happen. Don't get me wrong, I'd do it a million times again, exactly the same way. I will always choose you over the Bay. But I dunno. Like I said, it's messing with my head…" Max started to calm down. It was good for her to vent a little, and to know that her beloved was right there next to her, listening to her words and letting Max be Max for a few minutes.

Chloe listened to every word that came out of Max's beautiful mouth, before letting her pause for a moment and wrapping her hands around the little brunette, burying her nose into Max's neck and kissing it. It was a good feeling for both of the girls. To love. To be loved. To remember what their lived had been like Before The Storm, and how drastically they'd changed in a relatively short amount of time.

"Hey. You wanna walk along the beach a little? The sun's setting, and it'd be a pretty motive for a photo, you know" Chloe suggested eagerly.

"A walk along the beach? With the girl I love? In the prettiest time of the day?" Maxed asked.

"Yeah" Chloe answered Max's rhetorical question.

"Hella" Max replied before grinning widely and grabbing the tall bluenette's hand. It was going to be a somewhat warm night, and the temperature was still warm enough to shed some clothing, specifically shoes and socks. The sun had dried the sand of all moisture, and was still somewhat warm to touch. Warm enough to be comfortable, not warm enough to burn their feet.

Both girls took off their shoes and socks next to the pier, and started walking along the shoreline on the beach, sometimes letting the waves swell over their feet and letting it cool them. That, combined with holding hands with the prettiest woman in the world, was simply a magical feeling for Chloe. In her head she was still a bit unsure of why Max had willingly gone through everything for her, but she'd had time to process it more than when at the Caulfield's residence.

The sun was creeping towards the horizon to the west, and almost kissed the surface of the ocean. The skies were clear, and only a few thin, white clouds hovered far above the Bay. The frantic screams of seagulls could be heard in the distance, but it was a soothing sound to be heard at the beach. This moment was something Chloe wouldn't mind keeping forever.

"Seriously though, Chloe. How're you holding up, considering everything?" Max gently asked. She'd waved her off too easily before. Max was the one to spill her feelings out, now it was time for Chloe to do the same.

"I've been thinking about us for a while now… Thinking about why you have done everything you've done for me. And I've had good time to chew on that now…" Chloe paused for a moment.

"The time this hit me the hardest was one of those rainy days in Seattle, really. I took some time outside, diving deep into my thoughts and feelings… And I think I've come to a conclusion now." There was another pause, and Max looked slightly concerned. This sounded serious, and thinking about it, Chloe had seemed a bit… distant… at times. She feared the worst.

"And what is that conclusion?" Max carefully asked, with fright in her voice.

Chloe pocketed her hands and cleared her throat.

"Max! I love you. I love you so fucking much, I don't really have words for it… But I've heard that actions can speak so much better than words can sometimes. So here goes…" Chloe said, before going down on one knee. Max lost her breath, and her heart was about to burst out of her small chest.

Chloe un-pocketed her hands, and had a little box in one of her hands. She opened the box towards Max, and held it halfway up to her in her right hand.

"Maxine Caulfield. My little doe. Will you marry me?"

The words echoed inside Max's head. She could barely believe what'd just happened. They were girlfriends and all, but this… so suddenly? She was out of breath, and almost had trouble standing upright. At least that's how it felt. Looking down at the little bright blue box, a small ring gently rested in soft, black inner lining.

A tear started creeping down Max's left cheek, leaving behind a small path of wet skin. Max wiped it away, before looking back at the beautiful girl kneeling in front of her

"Of course I will!" Max exclaimed, before kneeling down with Chloe and hugging her. This was amazing. The love of her life had just proposed to her. Now she knew that they'd be together forever. Grow old together.

Chloe and Max got up after a few minutes of probably the best hug they'd ever shared. The sun had descended far enough to fade into the horizon, and everything had a reddish glow. Looking at Chloe, Max definitely liked the way she glowed in this lighting, maybe now more than ever before. The air felt electric, and Max felt like she could just run around and around without ever running out of energy. She had a huge grin on her face, and tears of joy rolled freely down her cheek. This had to be one of the best moments that would ever happen to her. But although she didn't ever want it to end, this was one of those moments that she never wanted to jump back to. This was one of those moments that would come and go, and that she would cherish forever. "I will always remember this, Chloe. I'll never forget it" Max said sweetly.

"Shut up and kiss the bride" Chloe said softly, before embracing Max and holding her close. Max kept her huge smile, and almost wondered why her cheeks didn't hurt yet.

"Whatever you say, wife" Max quickly said, and kissed Chloe. It was a kiss of love. A kiss of such love that they'd never quite experienced before. For the first time in a long time, they were both truly happy. And nothing else in the world mattered anymore. Right now, this beach was the only thing in the existence.

Kissing and hugging on that secluded spot on the beach for a while, the sun had finally descended behind the horizon, and it was getting darker. "Time to head back, I guess…" Max said somewhat sadly. It was time to return to Blackwell. To get situated back in her dorm. To sleep alone for the first time in what felt like years…

Chloe shrugged. "I guess…" she reluctantly agreed. She didn't want this moment to end either, but she too realized that it had to, at some point. "So will you be returning to Blackhell, then?" she asked.

"Guess I have to…" Max answered in a very monotone voice. It was painfully obvious to both girls that this wasn't fun, and that it wouldn't get any less fun the following days. At least they could look forward to after school and the weekend.

"Hey, I have a crazy idea, but bear with me, okay?" Chloe suddenly said. 'She has an idea?'.

"What're you thinking?" Max asked curiously.

"Well, what if you crash in my bed for the night? That way we get one more night together, and I can drive you to Blackhell in the morning."

"That sounds like a hella good idea!" Max exclaimed. Because it was. 'You clever thing!'.

Max and Chloe was basically high on love for the rest of the trip back. Suddenly they both had a very pleasurable experience to combat the horrible memories that still lingered in Arcadia Bay.

Opening the front door, Chloe stepped aside. "Ladies first" she said while bowing and gesturing that Max should enter first.

"Now don't you start changing, Chloe. I love you as you are, and I always will" Max said as she stepped through the door. "that being said, thank you" she added and smiled at Chloe.

Joyce and David were relaxing in the couch, watching TV. Upon Chloe stepping inside, she gave Max a quick kiss. "Hey mom. Hey Da- David." She stuttered a bit, but made an almost flawless save. "Hey Chloe" Joyce answered.

"Listen, mom. Can Max stay over tonight?" she asked. Wait, what was that? She asked?! Nicely too?! What was happening to the world?

"Hmm… I don't know. She does have school tomorrow, don't you, Max?" Joyce asked. Chloe's spirit sunk down a little, anticipating a 'no'.

"Yeah, I do. But Chloe offered to drive me in the morning" Max answered.

"Chloe? Up and about at 8 in the morning? That'll be a rare sight. What do you think, hun?" she asked David. Now Chloe's spirit had almost died down completely. David always seemed to try and make life miserable for her, and she didn't think this'd be an exception.

"Sure" David responded.

"Wait, what?" Chloe quietly asked herself. Not quietly enough, though.

"Well, driving Max to school is as good of an excuse to get up early as any other, so if you'll actually do it, I say go for it. Just don't let her be late!" he continued.

Well, that was certainly unexpected. Chloe was prepared for defeat, but ended up victoriously. Cool.

"Well, umm… That was a pleasant surprise… But yea, I'll take her. Promise." Chloe answered. "Well, it's getting late, and we've had a long day. We're gonna head off to bed. Goodnight" Chloe said somewhat quickly. She was actually tired, though. Especially at the thought of getting up early in the morning.

"Goodnight" both Joyce and David responded almost simultaneously. Chloe quickly grabbed Max's hand and lead her up to her room. Mid-stairs, she turned around and yelled "Thanks, David. For letting Max stay the night". She didn't get a response, but she could picture his reaction.

Darkness had fallen, and Max and Chloe was getting ready for the bed. Max was in the bathroom, brushing her teeth. She usually had felt it awkward to use Chloe's toothbrush, but considering what their relationship was at this point, it seemed natural if nothing else.

Max finished her nightly routine in the bathroom, before returning to Chloe's room. The bluenette was already lying in bed, tapping on her phone. As Max entered, she put it down on the floor.

"May your fiancé join you in bed?" Max asked

"She may" Chloe answered, causing both girls to giggle at the role play. It was always fun to monkey around with Chloe. Max got under the bed cover, and rested her head on the pillow.

"Sooo… Are you tired, oooooorrrr…?" Chloe asked.

"Mmm… Never too tired to love… or to be loved" Max replied, lifting her head and rolling on top of Chloe. Their heads were mere inches away from each other for a moment, before Max dipped down and gently kissed Chloe's soft lips. It felt better than ever. This was a feeling they could get used to.

 

A/N:  
Hi everyone. Been a long time since last post. Apologies for that. It's been a hectic summer, and work started back up somewhat roughly. I suspect it's still going to be somewhat hectic for a while forward, but I'll try to write some whenever I get the chance,

So about the chapter. Boy, didn't see that coming, did you? To be perfectly honest, neither did I. I felt it was a nice moment, and that it could fit in pretty well. I've noticed that I'm not too far off from just being a re-write of WWGFH, and I'd kinda like to branch off on my own a little. Just a tad bit.

Was it too early? Maybe. Was it suuuper cute? Definitley

I'm excited to write more on this story. And I promise, if I decide to end the story, you'll all be made aware. I promise.

See you all in the next chapter :)

-MMM


	31. Resuming Normality

“Mnnnggg…” Chloe groaned. It’d been a long night, and not a lot of sleeping had occurred. Sadly, but not just. Today would be a rough day, no doubt. But last night was also pretty damn amazeballs too, so the two would hopefully cancel out or something.  
“Good morning, sweetheart” Max said in a groggy voice. Chloe turned her head to her right side, and opened her eyes a little. There she was. The girl whom she’d asked to marry her just yesterday evening. There was something special about Max. She sorta glowed. Chloe wasn’t sure if it was because of the fact that they knew with certainty that she’d be her wife in the not too distant future, or if it was just the sunlight shining through the window in the room. ‘Probably a bit of both’, she thought as she leaned over to kiss Max’s forehead.   
The Birds Outside Sang, and the sun was shining through the flag hanging on the inside of Chloe’s bedroom window. Well, one of them, at least. The flag turned the sunlight into a warm, reddish light that filled the room, and made everything seem warm and fuzzy. This was nice.   
However, this was also late. ‘Wait, what? Late?’, Chloe thought as she checked the clock. “Fuck, it’s late. We gotta go if you wanna be there on time” Chloe said in a hurried tone of her voice. She was actually stressing about something. Well, it was a good thing, though. Right? To stress out because now she actually cared about something and someone? Probably.  
Chloe was the first to head off to the bathroom, and finished her morning routine quite quickly. Next up was Max, who was surprisingly enough taking this with ease. She didn’t stress out too much, and just had a general vibe of calm about her, which was pretty unexpected. If anyone should be stressing out, it’d be her!  
After bathroom routines were all done and good, the girls headed downstairs to get some breakfast. “Can’t start the day on an empty stomach, amarite?” Chloe asked. Max nodded in agreement, and went into the kitchen to find herself some cereal. ‘Keeping it simple, Max?’ Chloe thought, a bit perplexed about Max. She wasn’t exactly the girl who ate like a whale, unless it was at the two whale’s diner. If given free food, Max and Chloe would be THE two whales. Damn.  
Chloe found herself some slices of white-ish bread, put them in the toaster, and pushed the button. “Would you like some toast, Maximus?” Chloe asked. “No, thanks” Max replied with a smile. How exactly she was able to smile so genuinely in the morning was a mystery to Chloe. She herself was always a wreck in the mornings, and was barely able to do simple math, even if her life depended on it. One Max + one bowl of cereal = 5 hugs and 13 kisses. Wait, what?  
*POP*. The toasts jumped out of the hot toaster machine, and landed on the counter, causing a bit of a mess. Chloe hurried over to clean up the breadcrumbs, and put the toasts on a plate. As she sat down at the dinner table, Max remarked “Damn toasters” with a smile.  
“Huh?” Chloe asked perplexed.  
“Nothing. Just a movie quote” Max replied.   
“Where from?” Chloe asked, trying to be genuinely interested. Well, it’s hard to TRY to be genuinely interested, I guess… But she did make an effort, nonetheless.  
“It’s from Battlestar Galactica. It’s a somewhat old science fiction series. If you want, we could watch it sometime” Max replied.   
“Yea. I think I’d like that”, Chloe replied. Although they’d been through everything together, it’d be nice if she could emerge herself a bit more into Max’s universe and hobbies. She was already her model/annoyance in photography, though. Oh, well. Any excuse to spend more time with Max was a good excuse.  
Gobbling down the toasts, Chloe sat the dirty plates down in the sink, and quickly washed over them. Meanwhile, Max was still slurping down her cereal, although it appeared that she’d picked up the pace a little, and was almost done. Chloe sat back down opposite of her, and just watched Max, mesmerized at how pretty she was. Well, Max was always pretty, don’t get her wrong. But there was something about this morning.  
After Max finished her cereal, she and Chloe got out of the house, grabbing whatever they needed on the way out. Chloe needed a jacket, and Max needed a few books and stuff from her luggage. They eventually made their way into Chloe’s car, and they started driving towards Blackwell.   
It was a strange feeling, really. To be back in Chloe’s car. Truck. Pickup? Whatever.  
The traffic wasn’t terrible, actually. Although it was morning, most people either walked or took the bus. Not really that strange, though. Considering Arcadia was a small fishing town, people had boats instead of cars. Max actually liked boats. She didn’t have one herself, but Ryan had a small boat back when they lived there, and it was fun to go on trips with him in it. To roam around on the open sea. Few to none restrictions… Good times.  
“-ax? Max? You here?” Chloe asked, looking at Max in the passenger seat. She saw a brunette who was either zoned out or from the future. Boy, that was a weird sentence to say. Or, well, to think…  
“Huh? Yea, I’m here. Just got lost in my thoughts again” she replied, looking perplexed for a few moments before clearing her head. “Alright. I should get going, right?” Max asked rhetorically. She knew she had to get going. School was just about to start. Fortunately, they’d been on time. Pretty much.   
“Yeah… Sad to let you go for 8 hours or more…” Chloe sadly pointed out. After being so close to each other for so long, it’d be difficult to resume their “normal” lives.   
“I know…” Max said with a saddened tone in her voice. She wasn’t a fan of the idea of normal lives either, but it was sorta necessary.   
Max leaned over the gearstick to hug Chloe goodbye. They wouldn’t be gone for even a whole day, but it still felt like they weren’t going to see each other for a while. ‘Man, imagine if I’d left for Seattle for 5 years now. I’d die. And probably Chloe, too’, Max thought.  
She got out of the car, and shut the door. There it was. Blackwell. Or Blackhell, depending on how you saw it. It was definitely a strange feeling to be back. To be about to walk through those doors again… Max let out a small sigh, before starting to walk up those stairs leading to the main campus. The fountain stood there, statue tall as ever and all. It was pretty cloudy today, but the birds tweeted nonetheless. And some of the students. Different kinds of tweet, though.  
But once Max had reached the top of the stairs, she felt strange. Like she was back in one of her dreams. Or visions. Whatever.   
Everything felt kinda strange. She was still convinced that this was the actual reality, but she couldn’t help but to feel the beating sensation in her head, just like she had before. “Argh!” she exclaimed, putting a hand to her head. Yup, the pain was definitely real.   
But then again, it suddenly disappeared, as quickly as it had appeared. It was strange, all of it. Her head was a bit numb, but her mind had at least snapped back to normal. She was aware of where she was, and even noticed that some people were looking at her, probably wondering if she was having a stroke or something. ‘Way to go, Max! Now they’ll think you’re even weirder than before… Oh well, it’s not like you care about them’ Max thought as she shrugged. She continued towards the main entry.  
After heading inside, she still had a few minutes to walk the hallways. It was actually pretty full of students roaming around, some people chatting and some people just tapping on their phones. Max decided to head over to her classroom. She had English class in first period, so that’d be fun.   
As she approached her classroom, Warren showed up out of pretty much nowhere.   
“Hey Max! Long time no see. How are you?”  
“Hey Warren. I’m good, thanks. And yourself?”  
“I’m good. Boy, it’s been crazy, you know? After that whole storm thingy… It was messed up!” he said, rambling on about the more specific details of that Friday in October.  
“So I heard that you and… What’s her name… Chloe? You two got together?” Warren eventually asked.   
‘Like he hasn’t researched everything there is to know about her. At least he’s nice enough to ask’ Max thought. “Yes. We… We found the tone together during that week. We’ve been up in Seattle until now, actually.” Max answered. “Didn’t you and Brooke get together? I think I recall seeing something about it on Facebook?” Max asked curiously.  
“Heh, yea, we did.” Warren answered, giving off a genuine smile. He seemed happy. That was good.  
“Oh, and thanks for letting me die in that alternate timeline, Max! Real nice to leave us alone in the diner when the storm hit!” he said, looking at Max with a very serious and almost angry face. “Why didn’t you save us? Or at least die along with us? But nooooooo, Max Caulfield can simply bail on everyone when things don’t go her way!” he added.   
“Wha—What? No, I didn’t… I never meant to… That timeline didn’t happen!” Max tried to justify herself. To no avail. Warren’s brows furrowed. “You always bail. Just like when you bailed on Chloe. Max, you’re trash. Simply trash.” He said.  
Max stood speechless. She couldn’t believe her ears. How did he know? How could he?  
“Heh, yea, we did.” Warren answered, giving off a genuine smile. He seemed happy. That was good. ‘Woah. What was that? Was it all in my head?’ Max thought as she studied Warren with her eyes. He didn’t seem angry like before.   
“You alright, Max?” he asked, noticing that she was zoning out a bit.   
“Huh? Yea, I’m… I’m fine. I should head to class.” She replied, still looking a bit dumbfounded.   
“Alright then. See you around!” he said, before continuing down the hall towards his class.   
‘Okay, that was just weird. Simply weird. And scary. Hope that doesn’t happen again… But why did it happen in the first place? What’s happening to me’, Max asked herself. This was definitely not normal.

A/N: Hey folks. What’s this? A chapter that I didn’t spend the better part of a month to write? Must be magic. Or I’ve learned to rewind time (I wish).   
So, I usually want you to think it for yourselves. But what the hell, let’s try a new format. What do you think is happening to Max? Why do you think she’s having these visions? Will we find out in the future? Maybe.  
Oh, and the most important question in this whole fic: Will Max and Chloe ever sit down and watch Battlestar Galactica? The answer is hopefully yes.   
Feedback on this A/N format and the fic in general is much appreciated. Any feedback is good feedback.  
Until next time, my dear readers! To the future! Or past…


	32. A Father's Comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter is pretty emotional, especially to me. Just a fair warning

“Bye!” Max said sweetly, before carefully closing the passenger door to Chloe’s car. Chloe smiled at Max and waved her goodbye, and waited until she’d gotten up the stairs towards the main campus.  
“Hey! Move it!” Chloe could faintly hear from behind her. She turned around, and saw a few cars waiting in line behind her. Oh, crap. Was she holding up the traffic?  
“Sorry” Chloe said leaned out the window, before putting her car in first gear and driving off, back towards the bay. She sure as hell wanted to get some sleeping done, but that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. Mom would know, which meant that David would know, which meant that she’d never hear the end of it. Chloe pulled over to the side in the middle of the forest, and shut the engine off. She took a few deep breaths and sighed. “Fuck… What do I do? How do I spend the first day back in Arcadia… Alone…?” Chloe spoke to herself in a low voice. Frustrated with herself, she grabbed a rather solid hold of the steering wheel, and tried to squeeze it as hard as she could.  
No matter what she’d do, there was still two devils that Chloe had to face if she’d ever get anywhere close to be at peace in Arcadia. And she owes it to them to do this. Chloe started the engine back up, and pulled out from the side of the road, turning the car around and heading the other direction. There was one particular place in Arcadia she hadn’t visited yet… One place she didn’t want to visit. But she knew she had to.

Chloe drove slowly into the parking lot, and found a free spot. Not that that was hard, considering there were no occupied spots. She was alone. Perfect. Chloe exited the car, and walked along a cobblestone pathway. It was a nice pathway with small stone light posts set up evenly throughout. She’d been here once before. Only once. And that time she swore to herself ‘Never again!’. She didn’t want to come now either, but deep down she knew that she had to.  
She took a deep breath and spoke softly. “Hey dad…”  
She sat down in front of a big, gray gravestone with golden words carved into it. “Here lies William Price. Beloved father, husband and friend. You will always be in our hearts”. The words echoed inside Chloe’s head, and made her tear up. “Dad, I… I miss you. I miss you so much” Chloe said as she started to sob and her eyes welled over with tears. “Not a day goes by where I don’t think about you. Where I don’t miss you”. The sobbing continued and her jacket was getting wet by the tears that fell down and hit it.  
“You’ll never guess what, though. Max and I… Well, Dad… We’re together now. As a pair.” Chloe paused for a short moment.  
“Hell, you could’ve probably guessed it by the way we used to hang out all the time… And back then, even, I… Had some feelings for her. But back in October… When she came back… We really hit it off… And we got together.” Chloe was now almost full-on crying, but she still managed to speak in between sobs. “So we went to Seattle together, dad. We drove up to Seattle, and we spent almost a month up there together. And the other day… Well, the other day I… I… I asked her to marry me, dad! I did. I really did.”  
“And… My greatest wish in the whole world right now… My greatest wish is that you could lead me up to the altar.” Chloe said, before taking a lengthened pause to cry without restriction or holding anything back, leaning forward a bit. She hid her face in her hands and let the tears drip through, onto the ground.  
“It hurts, dad… It hurts so much right now. I don’t know if I can take it, dad…”  
Chloe could feel a very gentle hand on her shoulder, like the weight of a leaf, but somehow reassuring. “Chloe. I’m so proud of you. You’ve grown up. You’ve found love. And you’re hanging on to it.” A voice cut through Chloe’s sobs, calming her instantly.  
“Dad…?” she asked, turning her head to see a transparent figure of her father standing behind her, holding a hand on her shoulder. Chloe’s eyes lit up, and she shot up from the ground, trying to hug him. But she couldn’t. The transparent William was not real.  
“Dad…” she said, her voice deeply saddened.  
“It’s okay, Chloe. I am gone. You have to accept that.” He said in a calm voice, which made Chloe cry out even harder. William stretched out a hand to gently grab her chin and lifted it up a bit. “But that doesn’t mean you have to forget about me. Remember all the good times we had. Remember all the fun we had together.  
I might be dead. But I have no doubt that I will live on in your heart forever, Chloe. I will always be there for you, backing you up.”  
Chloe tried to choke her sobs and crying, but it was fucking difficult to do so. She looked at him, and he smiled back at her.  
“Don’t worry, Chloe. I will be there with you, leading you up to the altar. I will stand there beside you and Max. And it will be beautiful. Just like you are.” He said, his words cutting into Chloe’s heart.  
Chloe tried to hug him again. “You better be there” she said quietly, this time actually hugging something solid. It was a warm feeling for her to be able to hug her dad once again. One last time.  
As Chloe released the hug, she opened her eyes. There was no one there. Dad was gone.  
“Dad…” Chloe said, her voice riddled with emotions. Happy. Sad. Angry. Everything at once…  
Chloe stood over William’s grave for a bit longer, before leaning down to the gravestone and giving it a gentle kiss on the top. She took a step back, turned around, and started walking back towards the car. She could feel a short and warm gust of wind on her back as she walked along the pathway.  
Chloe started up the car, and pulled out of the graveyard parking lot, slowly driving along the gravel path leading to the road. A tear sneaked out of her left eye, and rolled down her rose red cheek. “I’ll see you later, Dad. I’ll be back. Maybe next time Max can come along. I’m sure you’d love to meet her again, after all these years…” she said quietly, turning on her right indicator.

Chloe unlocked the front door, and walked inside, dragging her feet on the floor a bit. When she closed the door, she was met with silence. There were no sounds from within the house. Just the faint happy chirping of the birds outside, being drowned by the noise of cars driving by outside.  
“Sooo… What to do, Chloe? How will you spend the next…” Chloe paused to look down at her mobile to check the time. “…6 hours before Max is done with school for the day? Boy, that is grim, really…” Chloe said to herself, feeling a sense of depression setting in. She hadn’t been away from Max for this long since… Well, since Before The Storm.  
“I can sit down and watch TV… But there’s probably nothing on as early in the morning as it is… I can make myself some proper food… But we ate breakfast not long ago… So that’s out of the window. I can clean my room for once… Urk! Boooring!”  
But after some time considering her choices, she eventually reached the conclusion that cleaning her room up a little probably wouldn’t hurt… And it would probably pass some time. Chloe started waddling up the staircase towards her room, and started cleaning up a little.  
First, the simple stuff. Removing some clothes from the floor, and throwing them to be cleaned.  
Next, move some stuff around. The car seat would stay, but she did clean up and move the suitcase in front of her TV.  
Chloe’s cleaning was suddenly interrupted by a short melody, along with some vibration in her pocket. “Yay! A text!” Chloe exclaimed. She didn’t use as much as two seconds to pull out her phone and read the message. “From Max!”

_‘Hey Sweetheart. Care to join me for lunch today? Love, your fiancé’_

“Holy shitba—Hrm… Holy wow. Lunch? With my fiancé? Yesplease” Chloe said to herself, tapping away a reply as quickly as she could.

_‘Why, hey yourself. I would love to! Time and location? Love, YOUR fiancé’_

Chloe giggled at the thought of calling each other ‘fiancé’. It was nice, of course, but a little silly. Well, was it really? Chloe had actually proposed to Max. And she did agree. So they were each other fiancé, right? Not that they’d set a date for the wedding or anything. ‘Wait, is it even legalized here in Oregon? Gay marriage? It better be, or I’m gonna kick someone in the balls!’.

_‘Blackwell, 9.25 AM?’_

Wait, what? That’s what… That’s what the time is right now, silly Max! Chloe quickly tapped another reply.

_‘Not YOUR time and location, dummy. For lunch’_

A minute passed before she got a response, though in reality it did feel like ages. 

_‘lol. Wanna reenact our first lunch date?’_

“Hella yes! Oh, man… I still remember that day… To the letter… Sounds perfect!”

_‘sounds perfect! See you there at 11? Or do you want me to pick you up and we can drive there together?’_

_‘It’s a date, then. I’ll take the bus there; you can drive me back if you really want to. See you there, sweetheart! Xoxo’_

*beep beep*. “A reply, huh? Let’s see… alright. I have a date in a little less than two hours… Better finish cleaning pretty quickly then… Just one last thing to do first…”

_‘NO EMOJI!!! (love u)’_

“There. Perfect. Now to return to clean some more…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N2: Alright, so that happened. I think it’s good for Chloe to start processing the loss of William in a bit healthier way. Don’t worry, we haven’t seen or heard the last of him yet.  
> If you’ve paid attention, you might see that this chapter was written a bit differently than the others. I got really emotional over William, especially considering I recently finished BtS. Oh, about that. You might’ve noticed by now that I sometimes reference things before the storm as Before The Storm, as a friendly nod to the game. I actually do this several times throughout.  
> Last but not least, I hope you all enjoyed. Remember, it’s okay for tears to fall. Especially when it comes to LiS.  
> See you all soon, my friends 


	33. It's A Date, Then

*Beep beep. Beep. Beep. Beep beep.*

"Huh? Is it time already? Boy, I guess time flies when you're actually doing stuff…" Chloe said as she stopped the alarm on her phone and took a step back to admire her handiwork. She really had gone above and beyond with the cleaning stuff. Her room now actually looked like a room. She'd even adjusted her carpet, made her bed, and cleaned up some papers. The closet was cleaned up, and stuff didn't lean on other stuff. It truly was quite the difference from before.

"Well, I should go, so I'm not late for my date…" Chloe said, blushing a bit of the thought of seeing Max again. She saw her just a few hours ago, yet it felt like she hadn't seen her in a long time. Strange how that worked…

"Love, I guess… Oh, great. I'm talking with myself. I just can't keep my mouth shut, can I?" Chloe spoke to herself in a relatively low voice as she took a look at herself in the mirror.  
"Yes. This will probably do. Right?" she said, before lifting her shirt a little to smell it. "Maybe I could do with something that smells better… Also, I could smell a bit better…"

Chloe decided to swap out her used shirt with a fresh one from the newly-stacked pile of clothes from the closet. She rambled through a few T-shirts before settling on an old one, riddled in memories. "I—I haven't seen this in… years… Does it still fit?" she said, before trying it on. It still fit, although it was maybe a number smaller than preferred. Chloe walked back in front of the mirror. For a moment, she thought she saw the younger version of herself, wearing the same black tee, looking back at her, with the same empty eyes she had in those years. Chloe blinked, and the young apparition or visage was gone, replaced by her present self, looking back at her a bit confused. Although, the reflection from her past, it brought back memories. Good and happy ones but also sad and lonely ones.

A tear tried to sneak out of Chloe's left eye, but wasn't allowed to, as she wiped it off before it could fully escape. "I think I should wear this. It deserves that much. SHE deserves that much." There was a pause.

"Rachel...» The name echoed in her head, bringing a fluttering of butterflies in her throat, which she tried to swallow, «I miss you... I miss you so fucking much, Rach...» she shook her head, and her lips stretched to a small smile, «I'll visit you soon, I promise! » she paused again.

"Fuck, I should go. I'll be late" Chloe said, looking at her phone to check the time, before walking out of her room, and into the bathroom. Opening the small door to her shelf, she found a deodorant and applied it to herself, trying to hide the smell of her un-showered self. She took one final look in the mirror to check that she looked decent, before rushing downstairs and out of the door, jumping into her car and driving off. A few clouds had gathered in the sky, assembling in front of the sun, naturally. It was still warmer than in the morning, but the usual warmth was gone. Summer was long gone, and winter wasn't far off into the future. Which actually kinda made Chloe think a bit. What would winter be like with Max? Probably full of cuddling and warm fireplaces and love and stuff like that. At least, that's what Chloe hoped for. She did have the guilty fantasy of spending a night in front of a fireplace, under a warm blanket, with snow falling like crazy outside in the darkness… It was a nice fantasy, if nothing more.

After a few minutes of driving in silence, she finally arrived at the Two Whales Diner, with a few minutes to spare, even! She pulled into the parking lot, which was pretty much all cleared of debris and stuff. There was still some sand lying around, but who cared, right? It was, however, a bit weird to not see Frank's RV around… The fact that he was dead… "He was a dick, but he wasn't bad…" Chloe sighed, before parking her car somewhat properly, only taking up one spot. She opened the door, and stood outside in the parking lot for a few moments, thinking back to old times, before finally heading inside to meet Max.

"Huh?" Max said, lifting her head up, looking around a bit.

"I asked 'What do you know of foreground interests?'" Miss Clovers repeated to a slightly confused Max.

"Oh! Well, umm… It's all about how one place objects in the foreground in photos, so you can draw attention towards them. They also help to make the photo more interesting. It usually plays an important role in the rules of 3" Max answered.

"That's correct. It's an easy way to complete the rules of 3. Foreground interests are very common in photographs of beaches or other locations without anything specific that 'pops out' or catches the attention of the viewer. It's important to rememb—" she said, before being interrupted by the bell, signaling that class was now dismissed.

"Alright, class dismissed. You have two hours of self-study after lunch. Have a lovely afternoon, everyone. And don't forget to take some nice pictures of everything you come across. It will help you to build your portfolio!" miss Clovers announced, before the class more or less rushed out of the room.

Max packed her bags, and followed the crowd out last, only to be hooked by miss Clovers just before she could walk out of the door.

"Miss Caulfield?"

"Please. Call me Max" Max said smilingly, albeit a bit restricted. She couldn't help but remember that in the start, she didn't think anything bad of Mr. Jeffershit, and he turned out pretty bad… Best to keep an open mind with the new teacher

"Max… You seemed distracted in class today… I just want to say that if you need time, I fully understand… What happened was horrible. And lives were lost… Schoolmates and friends…" miss Clovers said reassuringly. It was a nice gesture, but Max was fine. Right?

"I appreciate it your concern, miss Clovers. I really do. It's just… My mind sometimes keeps going back to that week… A lot happened. And I was in the middle of it. I guess what I'm trying to say is… I'm trying to process it. It's slow going, but… at least it's underway." Max replied, her eyes returning back to the old soulless stare. She felt somewhat empty inside as her mind returned to the events she spoke of.

"Alright. Just… Remember to let me know if you want to sit down and have a talk… Either with me, or the school counselor. Or, if you feel it's necessary to take some time off school to process it all… I'll make sure it doesn't negatively affect your grades."

"Thanks… I'll—I'll think about it." Max said, before snapping back into reality. She remembered how she had made plans with Chloe, and how much she was looking forward to it. "Now, you'll have to excuse me. I have a lunch date with my best friend"

"Okay. See you tomorrow, then" miss Clovers said smilingly as Max turned and walked towards the door.

"Bye!" Max simply replied as she walked out the door, checking the time on her phone. 'Shit. I'm late. I hope the bus is late today!' she thought as she rushed out of the building and ran towards the bus stop. She could see the bus was already there with the door wide open, and ran as fast as she could to make it. The door was about to close as she arrived at the bus, but the bus driver was kind enough to wait a bit, letting her on the bus before driving off.

"Ahh" Max sighed relieved as she plopped down into an empty seat. Which there was plenty of. The bus wasn't exactly full, so Max got a window seat all by herself. It was nice to watch the world swirl past her outside the bus.

'Wowser… This feels eerily familiar. It feels like when… When I went to see Chloe… When she was bound to the wheelchair… Ugh, no, Max! Shake off those bad memories. That never happened! You're going to see Chloe right now. It'll be like old times. Lunch at Two Whales… Spend some time together… I can't wait!' she thought, staring emptily out of the bus window.

Eventually the bus reached Max's destination, and she got off. The streets weren't that busy either, but considering it was lunch time, people would likely flock towards the Two Whales Diner soon. Max started walking towards the diner, and noticed that Chloe's car was standing in the parking lot. 'Well, dang. She got here before me. Hopefully we got a nice booth to ourselves, then' Max thought, before heading inside.

Walking inside, she wasn't exactly met with the same old nostalgia as the place used to have. That was probably gone forever. Nevertheless, this was still The Two Whales Diner. And this was still the place where Max got to explore her powers a bit more. And had lunch with Chloe. Nothing could change that. The layout was still the same, but the furniture was newer, and the place smelled differently.

Max turned to her right, and noticed Chloe sitting in the 2nd furthest booth, down by the juke box. Max walked down towards her. She could see that Chloe was already sipping on some coffee.

"Hey Chloe" Max said upon approaching the bluenette from behind.

"Max! Finally! I've not seen you in like… 3 hours!" Chloe exclaimed, shooting up from the booth to hug her fiancé tightly. Everything was right at this moment. The feel of her loved one in her arms. The smell of her hair and body. The familiar touch. It felt almost like time stood still, as if Max had more powers than she was letting on.

They eventually released each other, and sat down in the booth, opposite to each other.  
"So, how has your day been so far? I mean… First day and all…" Chloe asked.

"It was… different… I hallucinated about Warren…" Max said

"Hallucinated about Warren…" Chloe teased in an overly suspicious tone.

"Hey, come on. Not like that. I… I hallucinated that he said some horrible things to me… That I left him and Joyce and others in the diner… In the reality before I got back and warned you outside the party" Max said, her voice full of emotions and memories.

"Damn, Max… Sorry about that… But that sounds hella weird. And disturbing." Chloe replied

"It was VERY disturbing… Still can't get image out of my head, really,"

"but enough about me. What has your day consisted of, sweetheart?" Max asked.  
Chloe's heart jumped when she said that. 'Sweetheart'. It was her kryptonite. Her great weakness. Except for Max herself, of course.

"Ehh… I was bored. I literally couldn't find anything interesting to do… So, I ended up cleaning my room a bit" Chloe replied.

"WHAT? You, Chloe Price, cleaned your room? By yourself? Nobody telling you to?" Max mocked Chloe a bit, holding a large grin on her face all the time.

"Hey, now. Stranger things have happened, Caulfield" Chloe replied, and chuckled a bit. It was really unusual for her to clean her room, actually. She hadn't really done it since… Since William… Chloe's heart sank a little, before she spoke up.

"I—I actually visited dad after I dropped you off…" she said with a heavy heart.

"Chloe…" Max said, before getting up and sitting back down next to Chloe. She took her hand, and squeezed it a little, trying to show support. Chloe responded by putting her hands around Max and embracing her as Max returned the gesture, giving Chloe a heartfelt and reassuring hug. Chloe gladly accepted the hug, and buried her face in Max's shoulder blade, feeling the nice and safe warmth of the brunette. She eventually sighed, and sat back up, gathering herself a little. "I'm fine. I think." Chloe said with a small smile on her face.

"That's good, Chloe. Just remember that I'm here for you whenever you need me" Max answered.

"Even this afternoon? And tonight?" Chloe asked

"I may have planned something out… Maybe you'll see later today" Max said with a sly smile.

"Tease!" Chloe said, giving Max a small punch in her arm.

"So I see you two can't even stand half a day without being together. That's admirable. And cute" Joyce said, standing next to the booth.

"Oh. Hey, mom" Chloe greeted her nicely.

"Hey Joyce" Max said smilingly.

"Hello girls. What can I get you two today? Same as last time?" Joyce asked them, taking out her little notebook and getting ready to write down their orders.

"Yesplease" Max said excitedly. "These Belgian waffles are the best things I've tasted since… Well, they're the best."

"Heh, glad you like them. One or two?" Joyce asked

"I really shouldn't… But… two, maybe?" Max asked shyly, like her old self.

"Of course, honey" Joyce replied. "How about you, Chloe?"

"Can I get what Max's getting? The Belgian waffles does sound hella good" Chloe asked, almost sounding a bit shy herself.

"Of course you can. Two orders of Belgian waffles coming up. Max, you want a cup of coffee as well?"

"That would be perfect right now, Joyce! Thank you very much" Max replied.

"Be back in a few, then" Joyce announced, before returning to the backroom with the orders.

The two girls relaxed a bit in the booth, sinking down in the seats a little, awaiting a meal worthy of the Gods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey peeps!
> 
> A bit of a long chapter with a bit of an abrupt ending, but I didn't want this to be a suuuper long one. I'll save those for later and fluffier chapters.
> 
> Huge shout out to my buddy Big_B3ar_2nd for helping me out with this chapter. He helped do some refining work, and I think overall improving the quality of it. Hopefully we'll see more of him and his work in the future
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me this far :) I'll see you all on the next page!


	34. Planning for Tomorrow

*chomp*. Chloe stuck her fork into her waffle, and sliced off a piece with her knife, before shoving the thing in her mouth.   
“Hungry much?” Max asked jokingly. Truthfully, she loved watching Chloe eat. She loved watching Chloe relaxed and have fun. Max loved watching Chloe, is what I’m getting at.  
“Hella yes! Cleaning my room takes lots of energy, and I am in dire need of my refill” Chloe replied, chomping down another bite of her waffle as she spoke.   
“Glad you’re enjoying yourself” Max said gently with a smile on her face.  
“How ‘bout you? Not hungry?” Chloe said after a few minutes, breaking the silence that had crept over them in their little booth.  
“I am, it’s… I just keep thinking of what Warren said to me. Or, well, what he said in my daydream. Or vision. Or whatever” Max said, slowly poking her waffle with her fork.   
“Hey…” Chloe said empathetically, before moving her plate over beside Max’s, getting up from the booth, and sitting back down besides Max. Now it was Chloe’s turn to comfort Max a bit.   
Chloe put an arm around Max’s back and grabbed a hold of Max’s shoulder, encouraging her to lean her head on Chloe’s shoulder.  
“I just thought I was done with this by now… I mean, it’s been a while since the storm… Is it my head that hasn’t processed this yet? Or does this have something to do with my powers… or, I don’t know!” Max said with a bit of an elevated voice, not realizing before she was done speaking.  
“I know, hun. I don’t think it’s fair either way.” Chloe said, leaning her head down towards Max’s, and giving it a gentle kiss on the top.  
Max didn’t really have anything to say to that. She appreciated Chloe’s kind words and reassuring, and in her head, she agreed. She didn’t deserve any of this.   
On the other hand, she was sort of grateful for everything that’d happened. The powers… The storm… Because she knew that if that stuff hadn’t happened, she and Chloe wouldn’t be together right now. And the thought of her losing Chloe at any point… It was well worth a bit of suffering to prevent such a terrible thing.   
Max sighed deeply, then turned her head to face Chloe. The sweet, “innocent-yet-anything-but-innocent” girl with her beautiful blue eyes. She studied Chloe’s eyes for a moment, smiling gently all the time, before leaning in for a short, yet very much sweet, kiss. Leaning back again, Chloe grinned from ear to ear, wildly satisfied by Max’s gesture. Both girls leaned back in the seat, and relaxed. It was a nice, cool temperature inside the diner.   
After a few minutes of meaningless chit-chat, Max looked at her phone to check the time, and widened her eyes.  
“Wow! Time has flown by so fast”. She sighed. “I should get back to—Hang on, I don’t actually have class for the first two hours after lunch.” Max could feel the cloud of sadness from having to return to class dissipate quickly, and a wide smile quickly appeared on her face.  
Chloe sighed relieved. “You had me worried there for a sec, Maxi”.  
“Well, I have to return at some point. We’re only delaying the inevitable” Max replied with a small smirk.   
“If it’s up to me, I’d want to delay it indefinitely” Chloe said. “but I know. I want you to have an education and follow your dream”  
“You’re my dream, Chloe. Even better; You’re my dream that’s come true” Max said sweetly, causing Chloe to blush hard. She didn’t know what to say or do, and ended up acting really shy and just smiled whilst looking down into her seat. This was, of course, hilarious for Max to watch, and she loved every second of it. To see Chloe so out of her usual game was really unusual, and very adorable.   
“I’ll be right back” Max said as she got up to head to the restroom in the diner, thus allowing the super cute bluenette to recover a bit.  
Chloe sank down in her seat, and stared out of the window. ‘Wow… This is great! Too bad we can’t do this every day.   
A few minutes passed before Max eventually returned from the restroom. In the meanwhile, Chloe had more or less sat in the booth, looking outside and dreaming herself away from Arcadia. She remembered the wonderful time she had in Seattle, visiting Max’s parents. And the wonderful gift from when they’d gone out to eat in that fancy restaurant. Just the thought of that blissful memory made her every muscle relax, and instantly plastered a huge gin on her face.   
“Hey, Hun. Wanna get out of here?” Max asked in a cute voice. Chloe turned around to find that Max had returned, and was standing over her next to the booth.   
“Sure, if you want to” she replied with the same smile on her face.   
“Alright, let me pay for breakfast first” Max replied  
“You don’t have to, you know. I can gladly— “  
“Hey. My treat” Max said, giving Chloe a small wink.  
“If you insist” Chloe said, realizing the futility of her attempts to offer to pay.  
“Thank you, sweetie” Joyce said in reply to Max paying for the meal. Joyce were always nice to Max, it seemed. Well, maybe it had something to do with the fact that Max might actually be quite the good influence on Chloe.   
“Have a nice day at school” she said smilingly  
“Thanks. Have a nice day you too” Max replied, and returned to the waiting Chloe, standing a bit in the background, checking her phone.   
“Let’s go” Max announced open returning to Chloe, prompting her to put away her phone.   
“Hells yea. Umm… Should I take you back to school, or…?” Chloe asked a bit confused. Didn’t Max just tell her that she didn’t need to get back for a few hours yet?  
“Nah. I’d like to hang out with you a bit longer, if that’s okay” Max said sweetly.   
“I’m not sure anything has been more okay in the history of ever” Chloe replied, joyful that this wasn’t exactly the end of their lunch date. Well, it WAS the end of the lunch part of their date, at least. But it didn’t have to be the end of their date, and as long as Chloe could spend more time with Max, she was quite happy.  
Max and Chloe entwined their arms in each other, and walked out of the diner, into the nippy air that was the outside. Upon opening the door, both girls felt a cold shiver going down their backs. It seemed as winter wasn’t a thing far off into the future.   
“So, how can I amuse you today, M’lady?” Chloe asked overly courteously, casing Max to giggle a bit. “I don’t know, maybe we could take a stroll around the area? I’ve done enough sitting down for the rest of the day” Max replied.  
“I can imagine, being stuck to a school bench all day, every day. How… umm… How’re they handling photography class and stuff now? You know, since Jeffershit…” Chloe’s sentence sorta just trailed off. She knew Max understood what she was talking about.   
“I’ve got a new teacher. Miss Clovers. She’s… Alright, I guess. A lot better than Jeffershit, but that doesn’t really take any effort at all.” Max noted. “She seems nice and caring. She even offered me some time off, if I needed”  
“Maybe we could take her up on that offer” Chloe joked. “It’d be nice to skip town again with you for a week or so, just go around and being ourselves with each other”. Max had to agree, it was a nice daydream, and one that they might actually pull off some time.   
“I have to say, being on the road with you… Driving up to Seattle, and spending some time there… And hotel-jumping there and back… It was really wonderful. And it would definitely not be against me to do that again sometime not too long. I need to get into the routines of school again, though. At least for some time. Then I can request a week off to spend exclusively on you” Max said, smiling at Chloe, who’s face lit up with joy hearing Max’s outline of a plan.  
“That sounds like a hella good plan, Maximus. In the meanwhile, I’ll try to find some way to make the days go by and to rake in a bit of cash. We need money to be able to do these things, and I want to treat you as well”.  
It was true, money was a thing sorely needed if they were going to lunch together often, or enjoy some town-skipping. Bottom line was that Chloe needed a job. She wasn’t really sure how Max was able to scrape together money to pay for the stuff so far, but she suspected it had something to do with her parents.   
It was less than likely that Joyce and David were gonna slip Chloe money from time to time, so being self-sufficient was likely to be a good idea.  
“So, do you have any plans for the rest of the day, hun?” Max eventually asked.   
“mmm… No, not really. Maybe I’ll search for some jobs or something. Or I might just lie in the bed and watch something on Netflix or stuff. Maybe a bit of both, actually” Chloe said, her voice reflecting her empty feeling of knowing that she had nothing to ‘do’ for the entire day.   
“Sounds like a good plan. I’m probably going to more or less drown in homework today, but feel free to text me any time you want” Max said smilingly. “Maybe we could call each other every evening before going to sleep? I, for one, might fall asleep a bit more easily that way” Max suggested.   
“Deal” Chloe said, giving Max a wink. And before they knew it, the girls were right back at where they started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry it's been a little while now. Writer's block and being sick. But don't think for a moment I'd given up on you ;)
> 
> So, I'm quite pleased with seeing that Max and Chloe are still very much dependent on each other, and that it's painful to spend time away from each other. I imagine that's the way things are with new couples who are crazy in love with each other.
> 
> The ship sails onwards! See you all on the next page :)


	35. BSG and Chill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who even does 'Netflix and Chill'? Max and Chloe's got a much better idea!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Fluffy chapter incoming!

The rest of the day had been relatively uneventful, in truth. Chloe had dropped Max off at campus, and she’d gone about her day there. Chloe, on the other hand, had spent the rest of her day chilling in her room and watching movies on Netflix, as well as taking a short break with some exercise. She wasn’t exactly an exercise-addict, but staying in shape was something she actually cared a bit about.   
So after taking a run for about an hour or so around the Bay, Chloe returned home to the shower. The hot water washed over her and took away all concerns she had, replacing them with a single thought – ‘I wish Max was with me right now”.   
After spending way too much time in the showers, as well as rubbing one out thinking about her beloved, Chloe eventually returned to her bed and laptop, trying to enjoy an episode of Blacklist. Trying, and failing hard!   
‘Damn, this show is booooring. Why did everyone say it’s good?!’  
Deciding she couldn’t take it anymore, she closed down her laptop and picked up her phone to text Max.  
[Maaaax! Halp]  
In less than a minute, she got a response  
-[What’s up, Hun?]  
[I’m boooooored. God, how do people cope with this?]  
Her phone lit up again almost instantly  
-[No idea. Can’t take another second. Meet up again? My place?]  
This time Chloe’s face lit up, forcing a huge grin on her.   
[Yesplease. Be there in 5]  
Chloe immediately get her keys, put on her jacket, and rushed out to her car.   
-[Send me a text when ur here. I’ll get the door]  
-  
Not even 15 minutes passed before Max received another text from Chloe.  
[I’m here]  
Max could feel her heart skip a beat upon receiving the text message. Finally, she was here. Max dropped her phone on her bed, put on some boots, and almost ran all the way downstairs to the front door. She opened it up, and quickly her eyes locked with Chloe’s.   
“Finally, you’re here”. Max opened her arms wide, and Chloe accepted the invitation, rushing over to hug the brunette. “It’s good to be here. With you.” Chloe sighed, as she stroke and caressed Max’s fluffy brown hair.  
“Wanna head inside?” Max suggested, feeling the cool air outside gently stinging her torso. Winter was almost here, and it could be felt fairly easily. The temperature dropped a bit day by day, and Christmas tunes had already begun playing on the radio. And TV. And in commercials.   
“I mean; I could easily stay with you like this forever. But it’s probably warmer and cozier inside” Chloe joked, as she eventually let Max go, and followed her up the staircase.  
Being back at Blackwell didn’t really have the same ‘awesomeness’ as it used to have for Chloe. Last time she was here (when there wasn’t a party) was when she and Max had sneaked into the school, and then the pool. Boy, the pool. Thinking back, that was actually really awesome.   
But everything just felt strange after that. She couldn’t help but to think about Rachel. How they’d met. How she loved Rachel…  
And now she was dead. Chloe knew it wasn’t true, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that Rachel’s ghost still roamed the school, as well as the grave… scrapyard. The mere thought gave her chills down the spine.   
But Chloe was here again. This time, however, she had Max. And she never wanted to let her go.  
Eventually they reached Max’s floor, and luckily it seemed like nobody was roaming the hallway. With quick strides, Max and Chloe got into Max’s room before anyone knew they were ever even there.  
“Phew” Max breathed out relieved upon closing the door.   
“Not supposed to have visitors over, right? Especially not non-Blackwell visitors?” Chloe smirked.  
“Mmm… I mean, I’m definitely not the first one to break the rules, but I might be the first one to break them since October. And that does feel risky” Max explained, looking a bit concerned.   
“I get that. I do actually wish I’d gotten caught or something now… Tighter security, you know?”  
On some point, Max totally agreed with Chloe – A bit more (or better) security would be good for the school, past events considered. But in no way did she want Chloe to get caught for trespassing.  
“All I know is that I’m glad you’re here now” Max said as she leaned up to Chloe’s lips to kiss them. She had to tiptoe a bit, but she didn’t mind. In her head it made everything way cuter. Which it totally did, at least for Chloe.  
Both girl’s mouths widened into smiles, and the kiss got more or less broken up.   
“I’m glad I’m here too. With you” Chloe said, holding Max close.  
“So, what do you wanna do?” Max asked. She remembered the reason Chloe came over. Not that she needed a reason, though. Chloe was always welcome at Max’s. And vice versa.  
“I tried my hand at Blacklist…” Chloe said defeated  
“I’m sorry” Max said, giving Chloe a hug. “You shouldn’t have to suffer through something like that. Especially alone” Max added, laughing a bit.   
“Thanks. Got any suggestions what we should do instead?”  
“Well, we could try Netflix and Chill. I’ve heard that’s a thing that couples do” Max suggested  
“I’ve got no experience there, but I’m willing to try some new stuff” Chloe smirked, giving Max yet another kiss. “What should we watch then?”  
Giving it a moment’s thought, Max remembered a thing she said earlier.  
“How about we start watching Battlestar Galactica? I think you’d like it”  
“Hopefully I won’t like it so much that there won’t be any chill” Chloe joked  
“I’m sure we’ll find time for chill too” Max kissed Chloe one more time, before heading over to her laptop to unplug it and move it and the charger over to the bed. It was already dark outside, and the evening started to creep up on them.   
Chloe was faced with a choice, though. She could stay with Max throughout the night, and probably face mom and David in the morning.   
Or she could leave before it’d get too late, but that meant they’d have to sleep apart from each other.  
It really wasn’t too difficult to decide. Consequences was a problem for future-Chloe, anyway. Stripping down to her underwear, Chloe more or less hopped into the bed, and laid down atop the covers, trying to look all sexy and stuff for Max.  
“Paint me, Max. Paint me like one of your French girls” she said giggling.  
“Maybe later. When you’re not all covered up” Max teased as she sat up the laptop in the bed. Turning off the lights, Max stripped down to her underwear as well, and joined Chloe in the bed. A few clicks on the computer, and there they were. Watching Battlestar Galactica. One of Max’s many favorite shows of all time, right along with Stargate and Star Trek. She really was a sci-fi geek, wasn’t she?  
-  
After watching a few episodes, Chloe was actually hooked. The show had great characters, a neat plot, and was generally interesting to watch. A huge part was also that it wasn’t very predictable, unlike a certain thing she’d watched earlier that day…  
Max and Chloe snuggled throughout the session, which was nice on its own, but eventually they hit a bit of a boring episode, which was the perfect time to get a bit more kissy and touchy. Chloe had her arm draped around Max from the start, but now it started to wander a bit, as Chloe leaned over to kiss Max. She was nice and warm and cozy and cuddly.   
Max figured it might be a nice time to do some…”chilling” as well. Besides, she’d have Chloe over any show, any day. Since the laptop was resting on their laps, Max closed the lid and laid it down on the floor, next to the bed, all whilst kissing Chloe. She figured the “Netflix” part of the session was over, anyway. Supporting herself with one arm, Max rolled on top of Chloe, and looked down at the immensely cute bluenette. Well… Bluenette with blonde roots. She still looked hella cute, though.  
Max dipped down and kissed Chloe again, this time with a bit more passion. They both enjoyed the kiss, and dragged it out for almost a full minute.   
“Are we chilling?” Max asked after breaking the kiss.   
“I think we are. Not sure if we’re doing it right… But it feels right” Chloe answered, before she leaned her head up to meet Max’s lips once again. It did feel hella right in Max’s mind too. Eventually their hands started wandering even further, and before long, both girls were lying more or less under the covers, fully naked.   
“I love you so much” Max moaned.  
“I love you too” Chloe said, kissing Max once again.

-  
It was next morning, and Max’s alarm beeped away.   
“ughhh” Max groaned, turning it off and turning around to face Chloe. She apparently also woke up from the alarm, because she looked right back at Max with warm, loving eyes.   
“Good morning” she said gently with a cute smile.  
“Good morning, sweetheart” Max replied, leaning over to kiss Chloe. It was more of a quick but loving peck on the lips, but it felt nice nonetheless.   
“Last night was amazing… Battlestar Galactica is hella awesome! The sex was ok too” Chloe joked, causing Max to snort and giggle.  
“But for realzies though. Sleeping next to you felt incredibly good. I could actually relax” Chloe explained, and Max felt the same way. Sleeping apart from each other was a real pain. Or, was gonna be a real pain.   
“I know what you mean. Sex with you is incredible and all that, but just being near you… Sleeping with one hand around you, guarding you from anything that could hurt you…” Max trailed off. Chloe put her hand around Max’s shoulder and gave her a kiss on the forehead.  
“I know, babe. I know” she said sweetly.   
“…Did you just call me ‘babe’?” Max asked a bit surprised.  
“Maybe… Don’t you like it?”  
“I love it” Max replied with a kiss on Chloe’s forehead. “You’re my sweetheart and I’m your babe. I guess that works” she continued, planting another kiss on Chloe’s nose.   
It felt a bit weird being kissed on the nose, but it felt sweet and cozy, coming from Max. She could get used to this.   
The girls stayed in bed for a while, just cuddling and enjoying each other’s presence. Eventually, though, Chloe picked up her phone from underneath the pillow to check the time.   
“Shit, Max. Shouldn’t you get ready for classes?” Chloe asked, a bit surprised at how late it’d gotten already. Well, late… It was approaching 8 AM.  
“You know I’d rather stay in bed with you…” Max groaned, snuggling a bit closer to Chloe and holding around her with both hands.  
“You should get to classes. I don’t want to be the cause of you getting marks or anything, babe”. In truth, Chloe could easily stay like this all day, but she really didn’t want Max to miss out on classes. Right now, Max was the only one of the two with a specific career future – Photography. For both their sakes, she couldn’t give up on it. Not now.  
Max sighed, but understood Chloe’s concern. “You’re right. Though as long as I get to cuddle you later”  
“Of course. Call me when you’re done with classes and homework stuff, and we’ll hang. Then you can cuddle me wherever” Chloe suggested, which made Max’s face light up. Yesterday had been tough without Chloe there during classes, but hoping for her to start back up at Blackwell just might be a bit too much to hope for. Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N2: Hey everyone! Back again with a new chapter.   
> So, the question that’s probably on everyone’s minds right now: Will Chloe start back up at Blackwell? Can she even? We’ll see.  
> Is Battlestar Galactica as cool as I portray it to be? Yes. Definitely a gem.  
> Not sure how busy work will be in the coming days and weeks, but I hope to at least put out two more chapters before Christmas. Hopefully more!  
> If you have any suggestions, please feed them to me in the comments. I love reading each and every one of them. I just hope you’re still enjoying the story thus far :)  
> Until next time, my friends. Or, until you read the next chapter… Because I will have already posted it in the future… Shit, man. Time is weird.  
> Bai!


	36. Cold Days, Warm Hearts

Some time had gone by, and suddenly December had appeared. It was still early December, granted, but the air temperature had dropped by a few degrees, and it had definitely dropped below 0oC. Only bummer was that there hadn’t been any snow yet.

Max looked out of Chloe’s bedroom window, and gazed upon the cold outside world. People were walking by in coats and thick, furry hats. There was a visible frost layer on the grass. Hell, even some tiny puddles by the road seemed to have frozen solid.

Fortunately, neither Max nor Chloe was out there. They were inside, enjoying the warmth of Chloe’s room.

It was the weekend, and as usual, the girls had retreated to either Chloe’s or Max’s home. This time it was Chloe’s. Max was actually fairly happy about this, seeing as there was both more space and more to do over at Chloe’s, anyway.

Suddenly, Max heard a shutter sound. The sound of her camera as it took a photo. She turned around to see Chloe pointing the camera at Max, grinning from ear to ear. Max smiled upon seeing this. “What’re you doing, hun?” she asked warmly.

“Capturing your cuteness forever. Just in case we get old or something” Chloe replied, still smiling.  
“I hope so. But only if we do so together” Max replied, her smile warming up further, causing Chloe’s heart to melt a little. “Is there any other way?” Chloe asked as she put down the camera next to her, on the bed. Max started walking towards Chloe, and stopped just in front of her, standing above her. “No” Max simply replied, and leaned down to kiss Chloe gently on the lips. It wasn’t a kiss of passion. More like a kiss of warmth, comfort and love. After breaking the short kiss, Chloe’s smile was still wide as ever, as she looked up at her love. Max snagged the photograph from the camera, and sat down next to Chloe on the bed.

“Damn. This is actually really good.” Max noted, almost taken aback by how well the photo turned out. Chloe _definitely_ had talent.

“Oh, please. This isn’t that good. Seriously” Chloe replied, actually sounding a bit sincere. It sounded like she really didn’t understand how nice it was. Or what it meant for Max.  
“This IS really good, you know. And it means hella lot to me. Because this is the best photo of me you’ve taken, Chloe”.

“It’s the only photo I’ve taken of you, Max” Chloe giggled.  
“Exactly. The first AND the best. That’s no small feat, mind you”. Max was at this point both serious and… not.

“But seriously. You DO have talent for this stuff, you know? If not photography _per se_ , then at the very least I’d say you’re artistic as hell.” Max explained, hoping to really reach Chloe.

“I dunno…” Chloe sheepishly said, looking down on her bed.

“Chloe, I…” Max paused. “I want you to have a good life. With me, hopefully. I want you to _be_ something. Someone. Not someone else, but I want you to do something you love to do for a living”.

“Does banging you count?” Chloe joked, causing Max to break into a small smile.

“Unfortunately, there’s little income by doing that. Listen, I’m not going to push this on you, I promise. But I’d like for you to at least think about it a bit. Please? For me?” Max asked kindly.

“For you, I’d do anything. Thinking about the future for a few moments is definitely something I can do for you” Chloe replied, just before turning around to hug the super cute brunette.

“No matter what we do or Where We Go From Here, I’ll always love you” Max whispered into Chloe’s ear.

“I know. I’ll always love you too, my dear”

-

The rest of the day remained more or less eventless. After the girls had their little photo shoot, Joyce called them down to dinner, which also went by fairly well. David lead a nice conversation, and after dinner, Max and Chloe had done the dishes. After that, they’d returned upstairs, while David and Joyce watched TV down in the living room. In other words, it’d been a nice Friday evening. By now, though, it was too dark to see anything outside, except for street lights and cars.

“Sooo… You wanna do something? Not that lying in bed cuddling with you isn’t entertaining enough, of course.” Chloe asked.

“Of course. Any suggestions?” Max asked, lying in Chloe’s arms, resting her head on the bluenette’s chest. It was comforting to feel her loved one’s breath. To feel her heartbeat. To be close to her.  
“Well, we could watch a movie. Or something…” Chloe suggested openly.  
“You wanna watch Battlestar Galactica again, don’t you?”.  
Damn. Busted. “Maybe?” Chloe asked, trying ridiculously poorly to hide her wish.  
Deciding to tease her a little, Max put a hand on one of Chloe’s breasts, grabbed a light hold of her nipple through her shirt, and pulled a little, enough to cause the bluenette to jump a little.  
“Aah!” Chloe yelped.  
“That’s what you get for not speaking your mind” Max giggled, after letting Chloe’s nipple go.  
“Ouchie. Mean” Chloe pouted, before breaking back into that warm, cute smile.  
“Maybe you’ll get to inflict revenge on me later. As long as Joyce and David is in deep slumber” Max flirted.

After fooling around a bit more, they eventually settled down, and Chloe grabbed her laptop from the desk, and put it on the bed. She opened Netflix, and readied Battlestar Galactica. The show had really grown on her, and at this point, she loved it. They had already plowed through season 1, so she figured they’d eventually reach the end. At which point, they’d need a new thing to watch.

“Come here” Max said, sitting in the bed with wide open arms. It didn’t even take Chloe a second to decide, as she soon had Max’s arms draped around her, sitting between her legs and leaning back towards her chest. It was by far the best way she’d ever watched movies in her room. The “Previously on…” clip started rolling, and before long, Max’s and Chloe’s minds were dragged into the show.

-

After watching what they thought was a few episodes, they eventually got up. The position they were in had grown uncomfortable, and they both were getting a little hungry. Max went to the bathroom, and Chloe headed downstairs to fetch some snacks. After all, it was the weekend. However, as Chloe came down the stairwell, she noticed that everything was dark. The TV was off, the lights in the room were off, and nobody was there. “What…?” she whispered to herself, as she went over to one of the kitchen cabinets to get out a tube of Pringles to bring back up. Returning up the stairs, she went into the bedroom to have a look at her phone. 03:26 AM. Well, shit.

Max returned from the bathroom, and headed into the bedroom. “Is it just me, or is everything darker?” she asked Chloe.

“Not just you. Look” Chloe replied, showing Max the phone.  
“Holy… Wowser. Did we really lose track of time?” Max asked, realizing the irony of that sentence.  
Chloe chuckled in response. “I think we did. That, or we’re both asleep, and one of us is dreaming this“.

“If that’s the case, then I hope it’s not me. Otherwise, this might take a turn for the creepy” Max noted. “Wanna watch another episode?”

“Nah. It’s late. I think we should go to bed” Chloe admitted. To be honest, she felt fairly tired, regardless of how calm the day had been. She was actually a bit surprised at how Max was able to keep her eyes open, considering she’d probably been up since 7 AM.

“Aren’t you tired, Max?” Chloe asked curiously.  
“Very” Max replied bluntly  
“Then why didn’t you suggest going to bed earlier?”  
“Because I want to spend as much time as possible with you, my love” Max said as she was undressing.  
Chloe smiled, and took Max’s hand. “You don’t have to, you know. If you don’t want to”  
“But I do” Max replied smilingly. She’d managed to strip down to her undies before Chloe stole her hand. Max lightly put her other hand on Chloe’s cheek, and leaned in to kiss her beautiful lips. Max never got tired of Chloe’s taste. The way she smelled, the way she felt… Everything combined almost made Max lightheaded. Their kiss lasted for some time, though it only felt like a few seconds. They didn’t need to say anything to each other. Although they were going to bed, they most certainly weren’t going to sleep anytime soon.

Max clicked the lights in the room off, and headed to the bed, where Chloe already was sitting on the edge, undoing her bra. Max grabbed a hold of Chloe’s shoulder, and pulled her back onto the bed, causing the bra to hang by one strap.  
“Maaax. Sthawp” Chloe giggled, trying to keep her voice down a little. The room was fairly soundproof, but the last thing they wanted was for Joyce or David to walk in on them having sex.

“Nevah. You’re mine. And I’m gonna eat you all up” Max said in a silly voice, and started playfully gnawing on Chloe’s shoulder. Her teeth tickled a bit, and Chloe almost couldn’t control her giggles.

“You’re gonna get payback sooner or later” she managed to get out.

“That’s fine by me. Maybe I want it” Max said suggestively.

“Mmm… Really now?” Chloe mumbled, before rolling around onto her back, dragging Max along so she would be on top. “There we go. That’s better”

“Wow. Guess you’re full of surprises” Max said.  
“Well, you know me. Always got an ace up my sleeve. Although that’s not gonna do me any good now that my jacket is on that chair over there” Chloe joked. As suspected, Max’s usual warm smile appeared shortly after. She leaned down to kiss Chloe’s neck, and Chloe fully enjoyed it, showing appreciation by letting out small moans. She glanced out the window by chance, and gasped.  
“Max! Look!” she said excitedly.  
“What?” Max asked as she leaned back up and looked out the window.  
“It’s snowing! The first snow is falling!” Chloe exclaimed excitedly. “I love you, Max”


	37. Early Morning

Max expected to be awoken by the sun, as that’s how she was usually awoken when staying over at Chloe’s. That, or by Chloe herself. Or Joyce, calling them down for lunch.

But not today. Not even the sound of cars driving by. There was absolute silence.

Max slowly opened her eyes. The room had a bright white glow to it. She remembered that it started snowing like crazy last night. At least this time the temperature outside matched up pretty well, so Max wasn’t all that concerned about a huge tornado returning, or some other cataclysmic event. After stretching out for a few moments, which felt amazing I might add, she headed over to the window to look out. A deep calm washed over her as she gazed out upon the cars and the ground, all of which covered in a fairly deep layer of snow. It had to be at least a foot, if not two.

Turning around, she took a few moments to look at her cute girlfriend, still lying in bed sleeping. She looked so peaceful. So content. Like there were no problems what so ever in the world for her. Which, in a sense, was very much true. She _didn’t_ have a lot of problems now, considering Frank was no more, Jeffershit was locked up and awaiting trial, and Nathan was dead. It was a macabre thought, but everything was pretty much as it should be. Now they had to keep things this way.

Deciding Chloe should be left asleep, Max put some clothes on, and went downstairs to see if anyone else was up. As she made her way down the stairwell, it became clear that they weren’t. The lights were still off, but the bright light bouncing off the snow outside lit the rooms up fairly well.

Looking at her phone, Max figured there couldn’t be too long before Joyce and/or David would be getting up. She figured David would be the first one up, considering he seemed like a morning person.

“Might be nice if I tried my hand at preparing some breakfast for him and Joyce. I bet she usually have to make her own breakfast…” Max mumbled to herself as she made her way to the kitchen.

“Toast, eggs and bacon never fails, right? Right”.

She got a pan, put it on top of the stove, and turned the heat on. A tiny bit of butter in the pan and some bread slices later, and before long, she had a small stack of toasts. Next up was the eggs. Since she wasn’t sure _exactly_ when David or Joyce would get up, she started with two eggs and some bacon pieces, for herself and Chloe. Some sizzling later, and voilà! Lukewarm toasts, eggs and bacon. She kept the stove on low heat and put everything in, so it would remain warm whilst she got Chloe.

Upon returning to Chloe’s room, she noticed that Chloe was still asleep, and was about a coin toss away from snoring out loud. Max carefully sneaked up to her, and leaned down to kiss Chloe’s cheek. In response, Chloe slowly opened her eyes, and locked them with Max’s. Without saying anything, Max went from kissing Chloe’s cheek to kissing her pink, beautiful lips.

“Good morning, honey” Max whispered after eventually breaking the kiss.

“Good morning, yourself. What’re you doing up so early?” Chloe asked, still not fully awake.

“I cooked breakfast for us. Want some?”

“Maxine Caulfield cooked breakfast? Now, this I have witness” Chloe teased.

“Shuddup. Or else there’s no bacon for you” Max replied smilingly.

“No bacon? I’ll behave, I promise”

“Good. Now get dressed and come downstairs” Max smiled as she gave Chloe a kiss on the forehead, then returned downstairs to prepare the food.

Chloe didn’t take long to throw some clothes and get herself downstairs. Well, at least she made herself more or less decent. She’d put on what seemed like the baggiest sweatpants she could find, and a fairly worn T-shirt. For a lazy Saturday morning, it was more than fine, though.

“Morning” she groaned as she walked down the stairs. Her eyes were halfway closed, and she definitely looked like she’d just woken up from deep slumber. Which was probably the case.

“Hey. Breakfast is ready and warmed up” Max announced as she guided Chloe to the dinner table.   
“I kind of assumed you wanted coffee” Max said as she poured Chloe a large cup of joe. Chloe didn’t answer, but just nodded slowly.

“There. One for you and one for me”.

“Thanks, Max. Sorry, I’m just still REALLY sleepy. Sorry in advance if my head drops to the table”  
“Drink some coffee. I made it fairly strong, I think…” Max said after taking a sip herself. Although it was a bit too strong, it smelled amazing.

Chloe forced her eyes open, and lifted the cup to her mouth. She took a small sip, before pulling away and opening her eyes some more. “You weren’t kidding; this is some strong stuff” she coughed.

“Sorry. Want some sugar or milk?”

“Nah, it’s fine. If nothing more, it’ll wake me up” Chloe replied as she put the cup down on the table, and proceeded to take a few bites out of the toast.

“I think I forgot the butter” Chloe admitted, giggling a bit. “Pro tip: Toast without anything is dry”.

“No kidding, Sherlock.” Max said as she smeared some blueberry jam on her toast, and took a bite. “Mmm… The blueberry jam is amazing! Where did you get it?” Max exclaimed in surprise of the taste. Her tongue almost tickled a little at the taste.

“Hmm? Oh. Uhh… David, mom and I went on a little roadtrip to some market thing in Nashville a month or two before… our reunion. She got the tip from a friend of hers down at the diner. So we went” Chloe said, before pausing for a moment.

“It… umm… _Could’ve_ been fun. But David and I gave each other a hard time most of the trip, so it wasn’t really fun at all…” Chloe sighed with a heavy heart. Max couldn’t help but to feel sorry for both Chloe and David. After all, he _did_ give Chloe a lot of hard times. But they’d by now discovered that he was a good guy. Once you got past the often-angry-military man.

“Anyway, mom managed to pick up a few hand-made groceries before David and I could kill each other. After that, we pretty much just went back home. Short adventure” Chloe lightened up a bit.

“Chloe…” Max started, but stopped upon Chloe resting her hand on top of Max’s.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. Enjoy the moment. The quiet morning… The birds chirping outside… And the wonderful weather” Chloe smiled, as she took a bite of her now-buttered-and-jammed toast.

“And the tasty breakfast” she added. The jam was probably the best thing about that road trip, to be honest.  

“Hey, it’s the jam that really makes this good, you know… But I’m glad you appreciate it” Max smiled.

A calm filled the room as the two girls chit-chatted for a while. The bright, cold light being emitted from the snow filled the room and made it whiter than it already was. Chloe glanced out into the backyard, and saw a thick layer of brilliant white snow, as well as a few snowflakes blowing around in the slight breeze.

“Wanna spend the day outside?” Chloe suggested eagerly, as if she was a child again. This was the first winter Max had been there since… Well… The thought of this weighed Chloe’s chest down a bit, but she didn’t show any visible signs of it, out of fear that Max would think she ‘owed’ Chloe anything.

“Of course I want to, hun!” Max replied in excitement. In Seattle, the snow never really settled like this. It’d be more of a slushy grey matter in the roads and a bit on the sidewalks. Hardly anything to get excited over. But this… White, pure snow, like the kind she could easily remember from being a child.

“I wanna play outside! Make snow angles, have a snowball fight, take a long, cold walk with you, and round off the day by sitting inside and drinking hot cocoa. How does that sound?” she added after her short train of thought left the station.

“Yes to all that!” Chloe eagerly replied, almost jumping up and down in her seat.

“Awesome!” the brunette replied just before she took a bite of her toast. She’d already finished her eggs and bacon. Both of which was delicious, by the way.

“Wanna head out as soon as we’re done eating?”

“Mhhffmmm” Max replied with a mouthful of tasty toast.

The two girls decided to sit and plan the day out a bit further for a little while, before they eventually started hearing movement from the 2nd floor. “Guess mom and… David… is just about waking up. Should we clear out before they come?” Chloe asked, letting Max decide what’d be best.  
“Nah. I’ll warm some food for them. Quickest route to anyone’s heart is the stomach, isn’t it?” Max joked.  
“I guess? The day David cook good food, though, will be the day hell freezes over. Seriously. Have you tasted his attempts?” Chloe asked, looking slight disgusted by the mere thought of David’s cooking.

“Is it really that bad?”  
“Probably. Never tasted it. I prefer to stay alive”

Max chuckled at Chloe’s response, and continued following the same routine as when she cooked for Chloe and herself. A few cracked eggs, some sizzling bacon, and a few toasts later, and breakfast was ready.   
“Chloe. You wanna set the table for them? I suspect they’ll want to have something else than just butter and that delicious jam. Maybe a glass of juice or something?” Max asked with a smile, hoping that’d convince Chloe.

“We’re really making breakfast for them, aren’t we?” Chloe said, then a short pause followed.   
“Fine… But only because of you, babe” Chloe eventually said, giving Max the warmest smile she’d seen all day. It meant a ton for her to see that Chloe could actually do something she didn’t totally agree with for the sake of Max. Once Chloe was done with setting the table, with a little help from Max, she embraced the tall bluenette and hugged her passionately, swinging a bit to either side. “Thank you, sweetheart”. There it was. The words that always made Chloe’s heart melt to a mushy puddle. Before she could say anything, they heard footsteps in the stairs. In less than 5 seconds, Joyce and David would be downstairs. Was that enough time for a kiss? ‘ _Yes’_.

Max leaned up to cup Chloe’s cheek in her hand, then closed the short gap between their lips, kissing Chloe the way she loved to. A long, drawn out kiss filled with all her love for her partner. Max knew that by now, both Joyce and David had come all the way down the stairs, and probably stood watching their Chloe kissing the love of her life. ‘ _Whatever. They can stare all they want. I don’t care’_ was all the thoughts Max could spare for them. The rest of her mind and soul in this moment belonged to Chloe.

Eventually their lips had to part ways. As the two girls had finished the kiss, they still stared into each other’s eyes, as if looking at the other person’s soul. This magical moment was, unfortunately, broken by the sound of David _very_ discretely clearing his throat.

“Max! Chloe! You two made breakfast for us?” Joyce said in disbelief, as surprised as if the devil himself was standing in front of her.

“Yeah… We wanted to do something nice for you two. I thought it’d be nice if someone cooked something for you, for a change” Max said, having turned around to face Joyce and David.

“Well, that’s very sweet of you, dear” Joyce replied smilingly. “It looks delicious. And smells delicious, my goodness.”

“Well, that jam really did the trick on the toasts.” Max said, looking over at the half-empty jar of jam on the table.

“Oh, that thing. Yeah, I really like it. We picked it up at a market in Nashville not long ago.” Joyce started to explain.

“I know. Chloe told me” Max interjected.

“I’m sure she did. It was a… Memorable trip…” David said. Both Max and Chloe expected him to have a somewhat stern look on his face as he spoke, but it resembled regret and repent more than it did anger or strictness.

“Yea… It was.” Chloe said, giving David a slight smile and a tiny nod. He replied in kind.

“Well, I’m not sure I can believe my eyes and ears here. You two made breakfast for us, it’s snowed half a month’s worth in just one night, and David and Chloe aren’t fighting. I’m not complaining, of course” Joyce laughed.

“Well, maybe except for the snow part. It’ll be tricky to get down to the diner any way except for walking.” She added.

“Oh. I didn’t realize you were working today, mom.”

“I got a phone call last night. Janet called in sick, so I’m stepping in for her today.” Joyce sighed. Chloe could tell Joyce wanted to relax, seeing as it’d been a hectic week for her already.   
“Sorry to hear that” Chloe said, feeling a tiny bit sad for her mom.  
“It’s fine. I’ll take a day off in return. Why don’t you two sit down and eat with us?”  
“Sorry, Joyce. We already ate. We weren’t sure when you two would get up” Max replied.  
“…Though we ARE planning on spending the day outside. Maybe we’ll come down to the diner later to warm up on some hot cocoa?” Chloe shot in.  
Joyce smiled. “I’ll have whipped cream and marshmallows ready for when you do”  
“Thanks, mom. You’re the best” Chloe said as she walked over to hug her mother, before returning upstairs with Max in tow behind her.


	38. Cold Air and Warm Treats

The two girls didn’t take too long to get changed into warmer and more appropriate attire, and after a quick stop at Max’s dorm room to pick up some more clothes, the girls started walking into the thin forest next to Blackwell. Max had put on a pair of Gore-Tex pants over her usual attire, and wore a pretty big and fluffy dark winter coat. On her hands were mitts that her grandma had nit for her a few years ago, but they still fit perfectly. A brightly colored winter hat adorned her head and covered most of her brown hair.

“You know you look hella cute in that outfit, right?” Chloe remarked as they walked in the thick snow. It was actually kinda hard to walk properly, but Chloe had the advantage of her long legs. Max, on the other hand, wasn’t quite as fortunate, and had greater difficulties moving.

“I dunno… I _feel_ cute in this, but it’s nice hearing it from you. You don’t look too bad yourself, though don’t you think you’ll get a little cold?” Max asked, taking note of Chloe’s choice in clothes. She was wearing her usual purple beanie, along with a grey scarf and a padded jacket. Not too warm, and considering she only wore a normal pair of jeans, Max was genuinely concerned that Chloe would quickly get cold.

“Nah, I’ll live. I’m always hot anyways”

“You can say that again” Max remarked with a sly smile, making Chloe giggle a bit.

“Cute. Just like yourself” Chloe responded, causing Max to blush. Her cheeks quickly turned bright red, and she could feel them getting warmer.

“Well, if we’re close to freezing to death, we can use your cheeks as a heat source.” Chloe chuckled. “Where are we going, anyway?”

“There should be a trail somewhere underneath this snow. It’ll lead us to an overlook, so we can see everything!” Max excitedly said.

“Ooh. Taking me out to a remote, romantic overlook, are we? Me likey”

“Anything for you, sweetheart” Max said, before leaning up to Chloe to kiss her cheek. The short, yet warm and loving kiss, combined with her favorite words, made Chloe’s cheeks blush as well. “Now look who’s a heat source” Max playfully noted.

“Shuddup” Chloe replied smilingly, as she bent down to grab a fistful or snow, and threw it towards Max’s coat. It wasn’t compacted, so it broke off into a thousand pieces mid-air, gently bombarding her coat and pants.

“Oh, is THAT how it’s gonna be?” Max jumped a few steps away from Chloe, and retaliated in kind. Suddenly she could cross out a point on her agenda, seeing as they were currently having a snow fight. The girls threw snow and snowballs for a little while before eventually tiring. Max had used up a lot of energy on trying to dodge some of Chloe’s poorly fired shots, and laid down on her back into the snow. She landed softly in the snow, and tried to relax her face muscles. They were almost hurting from smiling and laughing so much.

Chloe decided to join Max, despite the fact that she could end up with a wet and cold pair of jeans.  
She landed next to Max without a sound.

“Having fun?”  
“It’s the most fun I’ve had in years, really” Max said, taking Chloe’s hand and holding it.  
“Same” Chloe replied, and closed her eyes to enjoy the quiet moment

The girls relaxed in the snow for a few moments, before eventually getting up. Max brushed a bit of snow off her pants, before doing the same for Chloe. She quickly discovered that Chloe’s jeans didn’t provide as much protection from the snow as Max’s, evident by the fact that almost the entire backside of her pants were completely soaked.

“Chloe… Your pants”

“Oh shit. Max. I’m all wet for you” Chloe teased, smiling from ear to ear.

Max couldn’t hide her grin. Chloe was just too dang cute, trying to be cute. “I can see that, sweetheart. Jokes aside, though, you should probably change into some warm, dry pants. I don’t want you to catch a frostbite or anything” Max said with a bit more concerned voice. Staying outside in the cold when wearing thin, wet clothing could actually turn bad rather quick. At the very least it’d get really cold for her.

“Yeah… Maybe chilling in the snow wasn’t the best decision I made today.” Chloe admitted.

“I’d rather blame it on not wearing some proper clothing, but that’s just me” Max joked. Chloe simply looked at the brunette and stuck her tongue out at her, playfully mocking her.

“I have an extra pair of pants in the truck. Let’s head back so I can change, then we’ll continue our snow date” Chloe suggested. Max agreed, and the two girls started walking back to the truck. It didn’t take them long to reach it, seeing as they’d not wandered too far off into the forest before starting the snow fight. Upon reaching the truck, Chloe quickly changed into some dry pants, and the girls once again headed back into the forest. Max still wanted to check out the outlook, and it was still a bit too early to head back to Chloe’s house. Or to the diner, for that sake.

Max still had difficulties when striding through the thick layer of snow, but at least the part they’d already walked down was easy enough to cross.

After walking a few minutes, the girls eventually reached the overlook. “Wowser… Look at this view” Max said more or less under her breath as she walked up to the railing and leaned down on it. Chloe followed closely behind, and rested a hand on Max’s shoulder.

“It’s certainly something” Chloe said in agreement. She had to admit, Arcadia looked pretty peaceful like this. No Jeffershits, no Prescotts, no nothing. Hell, there almost weren’t any sounds either. The girls could soon hear their breathing quite clearly.

“You okay?” Chloe finally asked, breaking the silence that had crept up on them.

“I’m not sure, really. I—Chloe, I still keep getting the occasional flashback… Seeing the bay like this is a bit… surreal, I guess is the best word to describe it.” Max sighed.

Chloe stopped just resting a hand on Max’s shoulder, and rather embraced Max from behind, hugging her tightly.

“You know you can talk about it with me if you wanna” Chloe said in a low and calm voice as she started gently swinging her torso back and forth a little. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Max” she whispered, before softly planting a kiss on Max’s cheek.

“Thanks, sweetheart. I think I’ll be fine for now, but… Sometimes things remind me of how they were, you know?”

“Yeah… I know what you mean” Chloe replied, thinking back at how she at one point had conflicted feelings about Max, and weither or not to stay with her. If maybe Max deserved better. Fortunately, she’d stayed with her. Chloe eventually released Max from the hug, and she turned around to face the tall bluenette.

“How about you, Chloe? Are you… You know… Okay?” Max asked. She was curious to know if Chloe just put up a facade to hide her emotions, or if she was actually okay.

“I am actually not too sure… With you I feel safe. And I’m actually able to pass time, and not just bore myself to death.

But I sometimes think about dad…” Chloe sighed heavily, and paused for a moment. “…And Rachel. And I miss them both, Max. A lot”. Chloe’s lips trembled a little bit, and her eyes started becoming glossy. Max cupped Chloe’s cheek with one hand and rested the other on Chloe’s opposite shoulder.

“Chloe…” Max started, but didn’t finish the sentence.

“I really do wish that you two would’ve met, you know? I honestly think you two would’ve gotten along well together… But she’s not here. And all I can do is to remember the way she was… And make sure she’s never forgotten”. Chloe gulped audibly.

“It’s the best anyone can hope for. It’s how our legacy can continue. I promise you, Chloe, even though I never met her, I love her. Because she loved you. And I will never let her memory fade away. Promise” Max said reassuringly, her own voice starting to tremble just a little bit. It was all true, though. She really admired Rachel from what she’d heard in the stories of her.

A new pause settled down as the two girls looked upon each other for a while, mesmerized by memories.

“You wanna head back, Chloe? Maybe get some hot cocoa at the Diner?”

“Max… Is it fine if we stay just a little longer and enjoy the view?” Chloe asked innocently. How could Max turn Chloe down for anything, let alone this simple request?

“Of course, _sweetheart_. We can stay as long as you want” Max said as she turned around to gaze upon the beautiful view, draping her arm around Chloe’s shoulder and holding her close. This was nice. The air was completely still, and only a thin layer of clouds blocked the cold sun from shining light over the entire bay. It really was a beautiful day, and to Max’s delight; The day was still fairly young.

After standing still a while, the cold temperature started to affect Chloe a little, and Max could feel a shiver from Chloe. She looked at her fiancé with a warm, yet slightly concerned look. “Do you wanna get some warmth back in you?” she gently asked.

“Ya, I guess it’s getting a bit chilly. Let’s head back to the truck” Chloe murmured, still apparently in deep thought.

-

After they arrived back at the truck, Max and Chloe drove down to the beach area, where they parked in the Two Whales Diner’s lot. By the time they arrived, the temperature inside the truck was nice and toasty, and had definitely thawed out any cold or chills that both the girls had contracted. The temperature inside the diner was not _as_ warm as the truck, but it was still warm enough that they had to drop their jackets. They sat down in their usual booth over by the jukebox, which was currently playing some old, slow Christmas tune. It really gave the diner a classic atmosphere, and didn’t sound like some mall or anything, blasting hip Christmas songs all the time.

“Hey girls. Have you finally come for that cocoa you talked about earlier?” Joyce said with a smile as she approached them.

“Hey Joyce. Yea, we’ve been outside all day so far, walking around outside and stuff. Finally, the cold got the best of us” Max greeted with a smile herself.

“Hey mom. Yeah, we need an energy refill” Chloe chimed in.

“Well, you two just sit tight and wait, I’ll make ‘em myself. Marshmallows, cream, all accessories?” she asked.

“Yes, please” both the girls said simultaneously, resulting in a little laugh from Joyce. “I’ll be back in a sec” she replied as she walked off.

The girls spent about 10 minutes chit-chatting a little bit before Joyce returned with two large white cups of hot cocoa. As she sat them down in front of the girls, they could clearly see how much Joyce had actually been working on them. They could see a few small and one large marshmallow in each of the cups, with the top part being caramelized, topped off with some whipped cream and fine-grit milk chocolate powder, and a cracker wafer poking out on the side. The thing looked far too good to drink/eat, but at the same time, it looked too got not to.

“Holy shi—wow, mom. This looks hella awesome!” Chloe said, grinning from ear to ear. This was obviously a new treat for her.

“Yeah, agree with Chloe. This looks so yummy! Thank you so much, Joyce” Max added in, visibly impressed by Joyce’s creation. Well, both of them.

“You’re welcome. Consider this a thanks for breakfast today. My treat” she replied, before walking off, letting Max and Chloe enjoy their cocoa in peace.

The girls looked at each other and smiled widely as they grabbed a cup each and brought it up to their mouths. “On three?” Max asked.

“One. Two. Three” Chloe counted, before taking a careful sip, as to not burn herself. The cocoa wasn’t flaming hot, but she was still glad she only took a careful sip. The instant the cocoa hit her taste buds, she got shivers throughout her body. The taste was amazing! It had a clear taste of milk chocolate cocoa, along with a taste of some herbs she couldn’t quite pinpoint. Add this to the diluted taste of whipped cream and marshmallows, and there was definitely a party going on in both girl’s mouths.

“Oh, God… Chloe. This _might_ be the best thing I’ve ever tasted” Max more or less moaned, closing her eyes and sinking into the booth relaxing.

“Oh yea, this is something I could quickly get used to. Probably wouldn’t be healthy, tho” Chloe replied before she took another sip. Goddamn, it was really good, and unlike anything they’d tasted before. At least as far as they could remember.

The girls sat at the diner and enjoyed the hell out of their cocoa for what was probably a good hour, before eventually getting restless. “You wanna hit the road, Max?” Chloe asked, and Max nodded.

“Bye mom! Thanks for the suuuuper good cocoa” Chloe complimented Joyce as they started heading out of the diner. “You’re welcome, girls. Don’t be out all night” Joyce replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey everyone :)
> 
> So just a little update here. I have been hard at work in order to get out a few chapters before Christmas, and I think it's been going pretty well. I can't promise I'll be able to get out another chapter (or several) on this side of the year. Nevertheless, I'll try my best ;)
> 
> IF I can't get out another one, though, I want to wish you all a merry Christmas! I have already gotten so far more than what I could possibly wish for, which is you guys :) I truely appreciate that you read and leave feedback for me, and I am forever grateful :)
> 
> Until the next chaper <3


	39. Something Wicked Comes

“Soo… What’s next, babe?” Chloe playfully asked Max as they walked down along the snow-covered pier. Fortunately, the road and sidewalk had been plowed, otherwise it’d be hella tricky to walk around anywhere.

Max thought for a moment, and shrugged a bit before she answered. “I’m not sure, really. We’ve had hot cocoa. We’ve had a snowball fight. Or, at least a snow fight. I think the only thing that remains on my list is something we should do tonight or something” Max said, giving Chloe that usual warm smile.

“Ooh, I like what you’re thinking, Caulfield” Chloe teased in a playful voice. Sex was always fun and warm with Max, but Chloe couldn’t help but think that tonight would be special. She wasn’t sure how or why, she just had a general feeling. Maybe she was developing time-altering powers as well? It was a nice thought, if nothing more.

“We still have hours to spend before night time, though” Chloe added.

“Well, I suppose we could watch a movie or something” Max suggested

“Ehh… I feel it’s still too early for that. If I head inside now, I’m not sure I’m coming out again.” Chloe shrugged whilst trying to come up with something else fun to do.

“We might eventually have to. Look at those dark clouds, Chloe. Might be a small blizzard incoming” Max said, looking and pointing towards North-West at the dark clouds that amassed and started inching forwards towards the Lighthouse – And subsequently to the Bay itself.

“I think they said something about that in last night’s weather report. It’s not time being fucked with again, I think” Chloe said, noticing a slight worry in Max’s voice. Hell, she still wasn’t sure if Max rewound time to make everything right and just never told Chloe. If she did, she’d gotten good at hiding it. ‘ _Nah. If she was still rewinding time and stuff, she’d tell me. Or I’d notice_ ’ Chloe thought as they looked upon the oncoming blizzard.

“Let’s head back to the car, just in case it’s rain. I don’t wanna get soaked” Max suggested, looking at her girlfriend. “Okay” Chloe replied with a smile as she wrapped her arm around Max’s shoulder.   
The way back to car went relatively uneventful, though they did inspect some of the rebuilding and repairing that’d been done to the buildings around the docks. Though it seemed they’d done a good job (at least from Max and Chloe’s perspective), it lacked one very important thing – The feeling of old buildings. Everything was relatively new, and it didn’t have that nice old look and feel to it, which kinda alienated the buildings as a whole.

Just as the girls reached the car, Max could feel something wet and cold hit her neck. She stopped dead in her tracks and reached out a hand to the air.

“Chloe! It’s snow. It’s snowing again” Max exclaimed excitedly. Even though the ground was pretty much covered in snow, it was still fun and cozy whenever it snowed. At this moment, Max lightly closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment. It felt as is the air was completely still. Her breathing was slow-paced and controlled. ‘ _If I open my eyes and find that I’ve frozen time, I actually wouldn’t be surprised’_ she thought as she could feel the snowflakes making contact with her hands, melting into tiny droplets.

“Umm… You okay, Maxaroni?” Chloe asked, feeling a tiny bit confused at Max’s behavior. She wasn’t fucking with time again, was she? ‘ _Hope not’_ Chloe thought, awaiting Max’s reply.

“I’m fine, Chloe. I’m better than fine. I’m awesome! _We’re_ awesome” she replied, looking at Chloe and smiling from ear to ear.

Chloe couldn’t help but giggle a bit at Max. “What’s up with you? You’re all giddy and shit”

“I don’t know, I just really enjoy this. Right here, right now. Actually, you know what?” Max said as she rushed over to Chloe and drew her in for a passionate kiss. The snow engulfed them in a white coat, but neither of them cared. It just made the kiss all the more magical and awesome. The kiss lasted for a while, before the girls eventually had to break it. “Merry Christmas, honey” Max whispered through her smiling lips.

“Merry Christmas, babe” Chloe replied, smiling equally as wide, before stealing another kiss, a bit shorter this time.

-

After the girls got tired of kissing (like that’ll ever happen), they brushed off their newly formed snow-coats, and got into the car. The original plan was to drive back to Chloe’s, but that all went away as Chloe said “You wanna do something fun?”. Max should’ve known Chloe could do something a bit dangerous yet also a bit fun, and maybe she did know, and just chose to go with it anyway.   
So instead of taking a left at the end of Acorn street, she just kept going straight forward, taking the girls just outside town. A few lefts and rights, and they ended up at a road with very little traffic, which meant the road wasn’t plowed. Chloe gently applied the brakes, and came to a standstill.

“Chloe… What’re you doing?” Max asked suspiciously

“Something fun” Chloe replied as she put the car in first gear, and pressed the gas pedal while adjusting the clutch, getting lots of spin from the wheels. At this point she was almost flooring it, but they just kept on spinning on the snow. As Chloe eased up on the throttle, the car eventually got a grip, and started moving. “Hold on to something” she said as she sped up to medium speed, checking the road for traffic, before suddenly applying max brake and turning the wheel a little, sending the car into a drift. When the car had started turning a bit, she released the brakes, and applied more throttle, essentially drifting along the road for some distance, before she had to straighten the car up again and stop.

“What do you think? Fun?” Chloe asked, awaiting Max’s reaction. She only hoped Max wouldn’t be mad at her for doing something like this. Reckless, possibly dangerous and… fun.

“Actually it was a bit fun” Max said, catching her breath. “Hella scary, though”

“That’s part of what makes it fun. Oh, we need to get you a driving license too, you know”

Max was a bit skeptical. “Eeh. I mean, I’ve driven a car before, you know. I’ve had a few lessons and stuff, but I just never really felt the rush. Especially considering school, living on campus and all…”

“Yea, but you’ll graduate soon, right? Imagine the road trips, man. We could drive to Canada, ey? Or visit Colorado or something.” Chloe said, trying to convince Max.

“Hmm… I _would_ like to see Cheyenne Mountain, if not inside then just outside”

“See? Need a driving license to get there, otherwise we’ll have to stay at motels all the time, and that takes time and money. One of which we have plenty of, the other we’re in short of”

“Okay, I’ll study for the test. IF” Max said, getting a clever idea. A challenge for both of them.

“…I don’t like the sound of this… If what?” Chloe said, fearing the worst.

“IF you study for a SAT II test” Max said, dropping the bomb on Chloe.

“What?” Chloe asked, a mix of confusion and worry.

“A SAT II test is like an exam. Don’t be mad, but I asked the principal, and he said that… Well, he would take you in again when “pigs sprout wings and starts flying”, but he did recommend you take a special SAT II test which could save you when searching for a job. If nothing else, it couldn’t hurt” Max said reassuringly, hoping Chloe would accept.

“It could hurt my head” Chloe said, before sighing heavily. “You really want me to get a job, don’t you?”

“Well, you said it yourself. We’re kinda hurting for money, and I still have a full year after this one. So you getting a proper job would help us. It’d also help pass the time when we’re not together” Max said, putting a hand on Chloe’s shoulder.

“Well, when you put it that way…” Chloe was starting to budge, Max could hear it.

“Think about it. Isn’t there any job you could want to do? Car mechanic? Chef? Anything?”

“hmm… Nothing that I can think of at the moment… How hard is this test? Do I need to study for a long time?” Chloe asked, actually considering saying yes.

“It’s fairly hard, but reading your file when we broke in at school, I really think you can do it. I’ll help you study too. I think a few weeks should do plenty, if you can get a hold of the necessary books at the library or something”

Chloe thought about it for a few more minutes, and eventually sighed again.

“Fine. I’ll study for the SAT exam thingy, and you’ll study for a driver’s license. Deal?”

“Deal” Max agreed, sealing the deal with a kiss.

“We’ll help each other study, and by the time you graduate, we’ll both be able to drive around and find jobs” Chloe said, actually feeling a bit hyped for this. It’d be a challenge, and she knew that Future-Chloe would probably hate Present-Chloe for it, but fuck it.

 “Sounds like a good plan, my dear” Max said, giving Chloe another love-filled kiss. “We, umm… Should probably head home, right? It’s starting to snow pretty heavily”

“But Maaaaaax” Chloe whined. “Urgh, fine” she muttered, smiling at Max and starting the engine back up again. She pulled away from the snow-covered road, and turned the car around, heading towards the Price residence.

It didn’t take a long time to get there, and when they did, it’d started to snow pretty badly, actually. “Damn, where is all this snow coming from? There’s never been _this_ much snow in Arcadia. At least not as long as I’ve been alive…” Max said as they exited the truck. They could barely see 50 feet ahead of them at this point.

“Okay, I’ll admit it’s strange, Max. But I’m sure this has nothing to do with us. It can’t be. I mean, you’ve barely used your powers since we came back. Right?” Chloe asked.

Max nodded

“Come on, let’s head inside. Maybe there’s something on the news that explains this” Chloe suggested, before holding around Max with one arm and starting to walk towards the front door.

Once inside, they quickly brushed off the snow from their clothes, and headed towards the TV in the living room, turning on the news channel.

“This is a special weather report. A blizzard of unknown magnitude is headed for Arcadia Bay. Part of it is already there, and it’s responsible for the unusual large amount of snow during the last 24 hours.

Scientists are not exactly sure how this blizzard formed, but so far they blame global warming. To all citizens of Arcadia Bay: Limit outdoor activities as long as the blizzard remains. Make sure you have enough food and water stored in your houses for a little while, as well as warm clothes and blankets. The blizzard is expected to dissipate over the next 24 to 48 hours, but since it formed unexpectedly, it might last longer or shorter than predictions indicate.

Stay safe everyone. This is Terry Tomson with the Oregon Special Weather Services.”

“Holy shit…” Chloe said under her breath

“Fuck…” Max sighed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. This will be the last chapter to go out this year. I'd like to thank everyone who's been with me so far, and I hope we will have another great year together!
> 
> Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and Happy new year!
> 
> Your friend
> 
> Mymusicmanager


	40. Planning for the Cold

Max woke up in Chloe’s arms. It was her favorite way of waking up, at this point. Nuzzled in the bluenette’s arms, with fingers gently stroking her back, her head steadily rising in rhythm with Chloe’s breathing.

But this tranquility wouldn’t last long, as a powerful gust of wind shook the house, causing a few glasses to vibrate a little. This still didn’t make any sense to Max. She hadn’t used her powers in a long time, and not nearly as much as she did back in October. But here they were, in the middle of a friggin’ blizzard, something basically unheard of in Arcadia. At least of this magnitude.

But what could be done about this? There wasn’t a clear cause for this, unless it somehow was related to Max’s decision at the lighthouse, where she chose Chloe over Arcadia. Did it mean that Arcadia would keep on getting pummeled until it eventually would be destroyed? Lots of questions without any clear answers, and that kinda bugged Max.

“Mmm…” Chloe murmured as she slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes were met by Max’s cute brown hair, tickling her lips. She carefully brushed a few stray strands away, and looked down at Max’s cute smile. Yup. She was definitely awake. “Hey” she whispered.

“Hey yourself” Max replied smilingly.

“Is the stupid blizzard still at it?” Chloe asked

“Mhm” Max nodded.

“I’ll punch it in the tits for you, if you want” Chloe said with a sly grin.

“I’d like that” the brunette chuckled, before resting her head back down on Chloe’s chest again, and tightening her grip around the bluenette in bed. She didn’t want to leave this position. Everything was as it should be right now. Why leave?

Sadly, though, she had to. She had to get up, she had to get ready, and she had to keep Chloe safe. Well, that last part was at least something she would willingly do until the day she died. Hopefully with Chloe at her side.

“We should get up. And consider… you know, taking a trip. Away from Arcadia. Again” Max eventually peeped up after a few minutes of silence, only broken by the gusts of wind throwing against the house walls.

“Why, Max? Do you think… This has something to do with us? Or… with Arcadia?” Chloe asked puzzled. She hoped, with every fiber in her body, that this was somehow just a natural thing. That the eggheads on TV were right and this was caused by some global-warming-solar-flare kinda thing. Back at the cliff, at the time, Chloe didn’t feel like she had a lot to live for. But now… After a few months in an _actual relationship_ with Max… She couldn’t imagine living without her. And she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving Max behind with the grief. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t.

“I don’t know, honey. But I don’t want us to find out when it’s too late. If we load the truck with what we need for a week, we could head inland towards Salem or something” Max suggested

“Or Corvallis. Remember we stopped by there on our road trip? It was nice. And is probably far enough that the blizzard won’t strike. Or, in any case, not as hard as here” Chloe said, still cooing and caressing Max.

“Yeah, we could do that. We could go anywhere. As long as you’re safe, I’m happy”

“Ditto”

“But what about mom? Think we could convince her to leave too? Or how about your friends at Blackhell? Or—“ Chloe said, before being cut off by Max placing a gentle finger over Chloe’s lips. “Shhh… You’re the only thing I need. As for Joyce, I think we could convince her to take a trip out of town, don’t you?”

“Maybe, but I think David would suggest everyone stays. After all, he still thinks this is some fortress that can’t be destroyed. Even after the storm hit and took a few things with it…”

“Chloe Price Caulfield, do I sense you worry for David?” Max playfully mocked. It warmed Chloe’s heart to be called Caulfield, and was something she adored.

“Maybe… He _did_ save your life, after all, regardless of it being a different timeline… And he had been less of a pain in the ass since we left… and returned” Chloe had to admit, and it was true after all. He _did_ save Max. Anyone who did that, was good in Chloe’s book, even someone… like David.

“Well, I’m glad you’re giving him a chance. And that he had vastly improved. It’s not impossible that he would listen to us. After all, he wants to keep you and Joyce safe. Going away for a little while might be the best way to do so”

“Eeh, maybe. Though I’d much prefer if it was just you and I” Chloe said, looking at Max with a cute smile while still caressing her and gently stroking her hair, as if she was some cat or rabbit that needed petting.

“Oh, of course! I wouldn’t have it any other way” Max looked up and smiled at Chloe.

“...Can’t we just stay like this? Just stay in bed snuggling each other, no matter what the storm does?” Chloe asked with a longing voice.

“I wish, Chloe. I really do… But hey, how about this?” Max said, before leaving Chloe’s arms and leaning down to the floor, exposing her cute butt. Chloe couldn’t help but to admire it. She’d seen it plenty of times before, of course. But that didn’t make it any less interesting or cute. Coming back up again, Max held her camera. “Smile” she said as she tried to frame both of the girls, and try to just capture the head and a bit of the neck. After all, she wanted to be able to look back on this photo some time, and maybe even have it displayed in a house or flat.

“Max?” Chloe asked with a slightly worried voice.

“Don’t worry, it’s just a precaution. If something happens to you… Or to me… I can go back and fix it. And if it’s not needed, then it’s a cute memory of this morning. Of you” Max smiled.

“Okay. Just… Let’s not _assume_ something will happen to us. Just a precaution, right?” Chloe asked, still not entirely calm again.

“Just a precaution. And a nice memory” Max said, before putting the camera away and returning to Chloe’s arms, this time facing the bluenette. Well, she’d soon have to call her a brunette again, if she didn’t dye her hair again. Max was kinda torn between the blue hair or natural brown hair. Both looked hella cute, and both styles fit her. Well, as long as she’d be the same Chloe, it didn’t really matter.

Though Max didn’t stay in Chloe’s arms for too long, just enough for her to wrap her arms around Max for a short while, before Max left her embrace again. This time, however, she got up from bed, and walked towards Chloe’s desk chair to pick up her clothes and started putting on some underwear.  
“Awww” Chloe moaned with a sad face, realizing that cuddlytime was over. At least for now.

Chloe wanted to stay in bed a little while longer, but got the incentive she needed to get up once Max said “I’m going to take a shower… Wanna join me?”. Chloe loved either taking showers or baths with Max. It meant more cuddling, and then some. Also, there was something about doing things together that they’d done alone for pretty much all their lives. Being able to share anything and everything made their relationship that much more intimate.

After a warm (and hot) shower, the girls got dressed and headed downstairs, where Joyce and David were practically glued to the TV.

“Good morning!” Max smiled at them. “Any news?”

“Seems like the weather’s not gonna ease up for a while longer. They say new stormy clouds follow the old ones pretty close behind, and it stretches out pretty far into the ocean” Joyce said with a bit of a worried voice.

“So this isn’t going away anytime soon by itself?” Chloe asked, her voice riddled with uncertainty and worry.

“Afraid not, honey”

Chloe sighed, and somehow couldn’t help but to feel a bit guilty over this. After all, this was still somewhat her fault. At least she thought so. Maybe she never was supposed to outlive that bathroom. Yet, after being with Max, sacrificing herself or dying wasn’t an option anymore. ‘ _Sorry, universe. My Max and I come first!’_ she thought.

“What do you think, Joyce?” Max asked

“Think about what?” she asked confusedly

“Well, what do you think about it all? Is it safe to stay here? Could we end up snowing inside, or the winds picking up like…” Max swallowed a lump in her throat. “…like the stuff in October?”

Joyce’s eyes saddened when remembering the storm from back then. At the time she was so worried about Chloe and Max. About herself and David. About everyone. “I hope not, Max. I really hope not. Though we might have to be prepared to spend a lot of time indoors. Maybe… Maybe you’ll be safer at Blackwell?”

“Thanks for the concern, Joyce, but I’ll stay with Chloe” she said, grabbing Chloe’s hand and intertwining their fingers. Chloe loved it, and squeezed lightly back.

“Speaking of Blackhell… Shouldn’t you at work right now, David?” Chloe asked as _nicely as she could bear_ , though it still came out sounding a bit bitchy.

“Blackwell closed doors sometime yesterday, so the security staff has been instructed to be on school grounds and make sure the students are safe. We take shifts, so I still have a few hours before mine starts.” David explained, then paused for a moment.

“Max… Joyce is right. You’d probably be safer at the dorms in Blackwell” he added reluctantly. He too remembered far too well what’d happened in October with Jefferson, and how he’d gotten sick to his stomach upon thinking ‘ _What if Chloe had wound up here?’_. Upon seeing the evidence, including the last pictures of Rachel on the computer, David had almost lost it completely. He still got shivers from just thinking of that horribly cruel stuff.

“Actually, come to think of it. No. You’re safer with Chloe. And… She’s safer with you” he said before Max could answer. It was surprising for everyone to hear him say that, and both Max and Chloe shot an eyebrow up.

“I don’t trust Blackwell anymore. I probably never will. But I _will_ do my best to protect anyone there. I just…” he sighed. “…just be safe, okay?”

“We will. Thanks” Chloe said, getting a feeling that David actually cared for them. Well, he had already been treating her better and better, but this was… awesome, actually.

“Nothing will happen to her. I won’t allow it” Max said in a semi-stern voice, as if also speaking aloud to the universe itself. Or whoever it was doing this to them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello everyone! Just wanted to drop a quick little note here, because I’m a rebel in that way.  
> With the last chapter, I tried adding some plot, some action. This chapter was more of a filler, a build-up, and exploring a bit how this affects them.  
> The question that remains is: Would you prefer some action? Some sort of event, like the snow storm, that may result in some hard choices? If so, let me know. Or, if you just want more cuddles, also let me know :)  
>   
> I feel I have improved my writing a bit since we started this journey. 40 chapters in. God damn, that feels good. But there’s no reason to stop now, this is a slow burner, and I imagine we will have plenty more!  
> I will try to update more frequently, though work is currently taking most of my time away, as well as Before The Storm is messing with my head.  
>   
> Last of all, I just want to thank you, as always, for sticking with me this far. Your continued support and enjoyment means the world to me! Thank you!  
> See you on the next page ;)  
> Your friend, goofy writer, and hella weird,  
> -Mymusicmanager


	41. Remember, Remember

Later that same day, the intensity of the snow subsided, although it was still coming down pretty badly. The girls still hadn’t left the house, but had at least started packing some bags.

“Do you think it’ll be like this all the time?” Chloe openly asked. Her mind was full of existential questions at this point, and they were bugging the hell out of her.

“Be like what?” Max innocently asked

“Like this! Like… Shit going down, and us running away from it… Don’t get me wrong, I’m hella glad we’re here and alive and all that, but… I dunno, this just seems to crazy”

Max could hear that Chloe was frustrated. Hell, she was frustrated herself! It wasn’t fair, not by a long shot. But being together and alive was much better than the alternative. Especially now that Max had felt how the world was without Chloe: Empty, lonely and not a place she wanted to be.

“I just don’t want to lose you, Chloe. I won’t let you die. I refuse to go on without you” Max said, feeling emotional. If she kept talking about this, she knew she could easily tear up.

“I know, Maxaroni. I hella feel the same way, you know. But… What if this doesn’t have anything to do with us? Maybe we could just stay and ride it out?”

“Maybe… I mean, I still haven’t had any visions of a blizzard burying Arcadia or anything… Maybe you’re right. Maybe this doesn’t have anything to do with us, and we could just hunker down in the house or someplace…”

“Exactly” Chloe said. “I’m tired of running. At least for a while”.

“But what if it isn’t like that? I still don’t know how my powers work. Maybe I can’t see the future, and we all freeze to death or something?” Max said with a worried tone.

“I guess you could take a picture. If everything goes wrong, you could just return to this point and convince us to leave. Right?”

“And if I lose the photo? Or someone drugs me again? Or…” Max’s voice trailed off, and she was left with a saddened look on her face. She remembered what Jeffershit had done to her. To Chloe. To Kate. To… Rachel…

Chloe might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but she quickly understood where Max’s mind had gone, and she rushed over to give her a tight hug. She could feel Max tremble in her arms as she felt her left shoulder was starting to get slightly wet.

“I wish I had your powers, Max. So no matter what, if we get into trouble, I could save you” she said sweetly.

“You already have” Max replied, letting more tears dribble down her cheeks and onto Chloe’s shirt.

The girls sat like this on Chloe’s bed, quietly crying to each other’s arms out of fear of losing each other.

“How about we wait and see, then? For one more day, at least? If shit’s still coming down, we’ll go”, Chloe suggested.

“Okay” Max sighed, wiping a tear off her cheek. “I just don’t want anything to happen to us… to you…” she said with a slight smile on her face.

“I know, babe. I know”

The girls finished packing a few bags, although Chloe was hoping it wouldn’t be necessary. Still though, wouldn’t hurt to be prepared, just in case. Chloe could be stubborn, but she wasn’t outright stupid. If the weather got worse, and it was run or die, she would run. As long as Max was with her, life was worth living.

-

The evening went by fairly quickly. Max and Chloe had chilled downstairs with Joyce and David for a little while, watching the news and the usual junk that ran on the TV. As expected, there was a lot of reports about the weather, where interviews with experts, climate researchers, global warming activists, etc. dominated most the channels. Eventually though, Max and Chloe was more or less fed up with that stuff, and retreated upstairs to watch Battlestar Galactica, Chloe’s new favorite show. One episode turned into many, and time suddenly seemed to pass really quickly. Max still wasn’t fully sure if she could fast-forward time, or if it was just a natural thing for everyone, that time passed more quickly when having fun. Or maybe she was time traveling, but had started going back and forth so many times, she’d forgotten all about it.

The whole thing was a recipe for headaches, really. Not _just_ literally, but confusing as shit, and dwelling on it didn’t really make anything better.

“Chloe?”

“Mm?”

“Do you…” Max started, but paused before she could finish the sentence

“…nah, never mind”

“What?” Chloe asked

“Nah, it’s nothing”

“Oh, come on. What’s bothering you?” Chloe asked sweetly, caressing Max’s shoulder with her soft, warm fingers.

“Do you think back on our road trip very often?” she asked

“All the time” Chloe replied

“Same… I miss it. We had so much fun, during a time that… well, wasn’t really fun at all”

“We did, didn’t we! What was your favorite moments?” Chloe asked

“I—I’m not sure. Everything about it, I suppose. I fondly remember our trip to that park in Portland. Where we watched the sunset… Or the dinner with dessert after… Or dinner with mom and dad… Or that hot day in Seattle, when we got ice-cream…” Max said, remembering all the days between here and then. She knew she had a pretty good memory, but now… She remembered everything vividly, like it happened just mere minutes ago. She could feel her eyes well up again, but this time it wasn’t because of the hurt or the fear… This time it was love and joy, and lots of it!

Chloe smiled when hearing Max listing all those moments. Although Chloe didn’t remember them quite as well, she remembered how she felt those days. Happy. Actually happy, for the first time in years and years.

“…but those days ended. We eventually went back here, and got back into the routine of things again. Chloe, has anything really changed since October?” Max asked rhetorically.

Chloe frowned a bit at the question. She knew Max didn’t mean anything about it, but for Chloe, the changes had been significant.

“Yes. Everything has changed. For me, at least. We met again. You saved my life. We fucked Arcadia. We fucked Nathan. Well, Jeffershit did, but we fucked that monster! We experienced so much together. I proposed to you. You accepted. I started studying school stuff again, and now it’s snowing like no tomorrow. So yes, I’d say things have changed” Chloe replied. She didn’t want to sound bitchy, but there really wasn’t any way around it. Her entire life had changed in just a few months, and she definitely welcomed it.

Max realized what she’d said, and instantly regretted it. “Chloe, I’m… I’m really sorry. Of course everything’s changed. I didn’t mean to devalue it or anything. I—I’m a jerk” she muttered

“It’s fine, I know you didn’t mean it that way. Yea, I can see a lot of things are still the same, but I suppose some things will always be the same” Chloe said

“…like my undying love for you” she added

“Awww! Or mine you” Max replied as she turned around in bed and embraced Chloe in a warm hug. Hugging Chloe always felt nice and safe, and Max didn’t ever want to stop. Eventually though, she did, only to kiss Chloe instead. The usual warm, fuzzy feeling sent shivers of joy throughout her body, and the kiss turned into smiles.

“What’s so funny” Chloe asked giddily, as Max’s smile turned into giggles.

“Nothing, I just… I dunno, reminiscing of those beautiful days just has me feeling happy, I guess. Like we talked about earlier, we should do it again some time. Sometime spring, when it’s warm and nice outside. Just take a trip for a few months, and go wherever we please.”

“That sounds hella nice, but you still have school to finish, and I’m not gonna let you skip” Chloe replied in a playfully stern voice.

“I’ll find a way to get some time off. Besides, I’ll do anything to spend more quality time with you”

“As if you’re not spending every minute of the day with me already” Chloe teased. “But I know what you mean. It’s more fun to be out there, traveling and seeing new things, than be stuck in this house, snowed-in”

“Who says it isn’t fun to be stuck with me inside a house?” Max smirked, as she leaned in for another kiss, this one being a bit quicker than the last.

“As long as we’re together, there’s nowhere we can be that’ll be boring. Especially not here, even if it’s…” Chloe said, but stopped once she looked outside.

Max was a bit confused for a second, and thought Chloe was just playing, but once Max turned her head to look outside herself, she noticed it too, and froze up. There wasn’t anything there. Well, there was houses and the street and all that, but one thing that different from earlier was that it had stopped snowing.

“Max…” Chloe stuttered

“Holy shit”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey guys. Holy wow, it’s been like forever since last update. I am truly sorry about this, and I hope the next chapter won’t take as long to get out. Recently, my motivation for writing hasn’t been very high, and when you mix that with busy work schedule and writer’s block, then you’ve got yourself a recipe for procrastination.  
> Next week Farewell will hit us, and I imagine it’ll hit us hard. To me it feels like they’re closing up shop, but in no way does that mean that I will be doing the same. Oh no, we’re just getting started here.   
> I do imagine that I will be emotionally distraught, and whether that means I’ll write more or less is something we’ll just have to wait and see.   
> Anyway, enough rambling. It’s been a while, but hopefully it won’t be long until you can turn the pages again :) See you on the next one  
> Your goofy writer  
> Mymusicmanager


	42. Avast, Ye Scallywag

Max gently woke up, nuzzled in Chloe’s long, soft arms. The sun rays were gently bouncing off the walls of the room, brightening it up. As Max carefully opened her eyes, she immediately shut them again once that bright light hit her eyes.

“mnggg… Chloe, turn off the lights” she groaned

She didn’t get a lot of response from her beloved next to her. Chloe just tucked her head under the duvet. It was clear she didn’t want to get up and do anything at all.

With another load groan, Max got out of the bed, pulled the curtains to cover the window, and slouched back into the bed. She didn’t even care about going around the bed, she just laid herself over Chloe’s legs.

“Move it, slowpoke!” Chloe murmured in an annoyed voice. She usually wasn’t this groggy in the morning, but last night had taken the breath out of her. It had stopped snowing, which caused for… hrm… celebration. Not that Max or Chloe needed any particular reason, but it felt a bit more special when they did. Then it wouldn’t just be fooling around and stuff. No, if they had a reason to celebrate, everything felt more special. Every touch mattered. Every kiss had a passion behind it.

Max didn’t listen, of course. She was dead tired too, and quite frankly, it was a miracle that she could be bothered with pulling the curtains without being threatened with a hot iron.

“Come oooooon, I wanna sleep” Chloe pleaded.

“Fine” Max groaned as she swung her legs into the bed, and got comfortable next to Chloe. She wrapped both arms around her and pulled her close. The soft, blue hair made for a nice pillow for Max to rest her head against as both girls quickly fell asleep again.

As Max woke up again, she first noticed that Chloe wasn’t in bed. She jolted herself up, and scouted the room. No Chloe. ‘ _Where did you go?’_ Max thought as she got up from bed and put on some underwear. Sleeping naked wasn’t something she’d done prior to this year, but when she was with Chloe, and they got frisky during the night… Well, it _was_ actually kinda nice. Freeing, almost.

Upon opening the door, Max quickly realized that it was possible Chloe was in the shower, because she heard water running in the bathroom.

Although her first instinct was to join her, she quickly realized that it _might_ not be Chloe in the bathroom. After all, both Joyce and David was still home as far as Max knew, and how majestically awkward wouldn’t it be if Max paraded into the bathroom with either one of them there? Probably extremely.

Deciding it might be a better idea to do some spying instead, Max put on a pair of sweatpants and one of Chloe’s big, bulky hoodies, grey with the words ‘Cleveland’ sown into the fabric. It felt nice and safe, and smelled like Chloe, so in a way it felt like having her hug Max all the time. She tiptoed down the stairs, and noticed how quiet it was. The gentle creaking of the staircase broke through the silence in the air as Max approached the bottom. Nothing. No one. The house seemed to be pretty empty. After taking a quick look around, it appeared that Joyce’s purse was gone. Maybe David and her had taken a trip or something?

Max returned upstairs and gently pressed her ear against the bathroom door, listening for a voice or anything. Eventually though, she heard a sigh, and quickly recognized the voice. Without much further hesitation, she dropped the sweater and sweatpants, and knocked on the door

“Guess who?”

“The door’s unlocked”

She didn’t need anything else. The only thing she needed in the world was in that bathroom, and she couldn’t be bothered with waiting a few minutes. Before naught, Max had jumped into the shower with Chloe.

“It’s… so strange” Max eventually said

“What is?” Chloe asked as she cupped Max’s cheek in one hand

“Just a few years ago, we spent so much time here… And now we’re back?” Max said nostalgically.

“We spent a lot of time showering together?” Chloe feigned a puzzled voice.

“No, you dummy” Max chuckled as she playfully punched Chloe in her ribs. “I mean in this house. We literally spent so much of our childhood here. I mean, we’ve known each other pretty much our whole lives… And now… Now it looks like we’re gonna spend our whole lives together” Max continued.

“And… Do you regret that?” Chloe carefully asked, as if some therapy session had just started

“What? No! It’s the best thing that ever happen to me.” Max quickly replied. “Chloe, I couldn’t be happier. You are my everything, you know that”

“Yes. I know” Chloe smiled warmly. “And I’m happy about it too. You know I wouldn’t have wanted our relationship to work out any differently. This reality, our reality… It’s perfect. At least when seeing what the alternatives were. Well, _hear_ about them…” Chloe explained.

“It’s not weird or anything thinking about how we played pirates and stuff when we were kids, and now we’re having sex?” Max giggled

“It’s a little weird if I think about it, yeah. But then again, there’s no one else I want for either. And who’s to say playing pirates belong to the past?” Chloe replied as she gently massaged Max’s shoulders from behind. The running water felt great combined with Chloe’s hands kneading the sore muscles.

“Booty jokes aside though, I’m not sure anyone’s gonna think we’re normal if we go play pirates in the woods” Max noted.

“Eeh, it’s fine. It’s not like we _are_ normal. Or put up a front to make others _think_ we’re normal. We’re hella weird, and we’ll always be” Chloe said proudly. “If you want to be weird with me, that is”

“I’ll always be weird with you, Captain! But what about the booty? Last time we dug up one of our treasures…” Max stopped, realizing what memory she’d walked into. “I’m sorry”

Chloe sighed. “It’s fine. There’s other treasures we buried that aren’t connected to my dad’s horrible death. At least I think so”

“Chloe…”

“It’s fine, I mean it. I mean, I remember that horrible day vividly. I’ve had nightmares about it for years now… Sometimes I still do. But I can’t let that block out any of the memories we’ve had over the years. If I did, well… We wouldn’t have a lot of memories, I suppose”

To Max’s surprise, that was a very mature and grown up way of thinking about the issue. She wasn’t sure that Chloe actually meant all of it, but hearing her say that she did, made her think that maybe they had started to grow.

“You remember I—I visited dad’s grave earlier?”

“Yeah, I remember” Max said, now massaging Chloe’s shoulders and holding her tight.

“I’m not sure if I told you this, but I saw him. I—I felt him. Like if he was actually there. I could feel his hand on my shoulder, like he’s still around, looking out for me.”

“Chloe… That’s so wonderful” Max said, smiling warmly behind Chloe.

“The crazy thing is, it’s not the first time. Back when… when Rachel and I… I saw him then, Max” she said as she turned around to face Max. “As clearly as I see you, I saw him in my truck. We… we talked and stuff. And I was resentful. And I shouldn’t’ve been”

“Chloe, we all say and do things we regret afterwards. It’s part of being flawed. It’s how we grow” Max said. “Yeah, I know, ironic coming from me. I’ve been using my powers sparingly lately, so expect flaws from me too”

Chloe chuckled a bit. “I know… I just feel like he’s watching over me, and that I’ll get to see him again”

“I hope so too, Chloe. I hope so too”

-

After finishing up their shower, Max and Chloe headed downstairs to get some breakfast. To their delight, it had indeed stopped snowing, and the sun had crept out from behind a thick veil of clouds. Breakfast consisted of some wheat bread, the amazing blueberry jam, a cup of coffee each, and some waffles each, just to top it off. The waffles were, however, not home-made, and was just microwave-ready ones. They didn’t taste quite like the real thing, but for a quick snack before heading out and spending the day, it was fine.

“So, Chloe” Max said after swallowing a large piece of waffle. “Where are we headed today?”

Chloe downed some coffee before answering. “Chillax, first mate. I need to wake up first”

Max chuckled a bit. “First mate… Been a long time since I had that title…”

“Eh, that’s fine. I’m sure you remember how to matey” Chloe said, finishing her coffee. “Okay. So you know the path up towards the lighthouse? Our parents used to have picnics and whatnots there all the time. Anyway, I _distinctly_ remember that we buried something there, and marked it pretty well. What say you, first matey?” Chloe asked giddily

“Long Max Silver. That was my name, remember?” Max said proudly.

“Oh shit, Max! I didn’t think you still remembered your old name. Wait, did you time travel back to the past to remember that?” Chloe asked suspiciously as she squinted her eyes a little

“No, I actually remember that. Maybe ‘cuz we had such fun, but I honestly remember it. Now then, captain Bluebeard. Care to venture out on another adventure?”

“Aye, Long Max Silver! To the ship!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey everyone. I'm not gonna be rambling on for long this time. I just wanted to let you know that, when I'm not writing this fic, I'm creating 3D LIS art. If anyone would be interested in having a look, you can find my stuff at https://www.artstation.com/mymusicmanager.
> 
> Terribly sorry about the shameless self-promoting. 
> 
> See you on the next page ;)
> 
> Yours forever
> 
> Mymusicmanager


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